Basis Of Subjective Evaluation Research Articles

Study of the infl uence of information and communication tools on the psychophysiological state of schoolchildren on the basis of subjective evaluation

The relevance of the article is determined by the existence of contradictions between the need to introduce innovative technologies into the educational process at school, as an integral attribute of modern education, and the negative influence of factors on the physical and psycho-emotional state of health of students related to the use of information and communication tools (computers, phones, headphones). The goal of the study was to assess the relationship between the timing of the use of information and communication tools and the frequency of functional and psycho-emotional complaints in groups of middle and high school schoolchildren. 400 schoolchildren of the Saratov Region, the Moscow Region, Leningrad Region and the Republic of Dagestan were surveyed, who made up two groups of research: middle-school schoolchildren (grades 5–6) and high-school schoolchildren (grades 10–11 The survey was carried out by means of the standardized formalized cards which included the questions considering usage time of computers and mobile phones, complaints to a headache, hands pain, other pain and/or feeling of discomfort from visual organ and the organs of hearing, as well as a psycho-emotional state. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the STATISTICA application software program by StatSoft Inc (USA). To compare the frequencies of a binary feature, a fourfold table of absolute frequencies was constructed and the level of statistical significance for the exact Fisher’s two-tailed test criterion was determined. The study was conducted according to the requirements of bioethics, after signing informed consent statement by teenagers and their parents. The study examined the relationship between the timing of the use of information and communication tools and the frequency of complaints in groups of schoolchildren. The results of the study should be taken into account when developing and implementing preventive measures to prevent negative effects of computers and mobile devices on the body of students.

Enhancement of Micro-Images Using Feature Linking Model for Cerebellum of Alligator sinensis

In order to realize the three-dimensional reconstruction of the cerebellum structure of alligator sinensis, it is necessary to observe the structure by using a microscope. In the process of slice making and micro-image shooting, individual operation differences lead to good or bad quality of micro-images. To solve this problem, the feature linking model (FLM) is used to enhance the micro-image of alligator cerebellum and improve the quality of micro-image. The transverse section and longitudinal section were prepared by using the tissue of cerebellum of alligator sinensis as a raw material, and the micro-images were obtained by the light microscopy. The different enhancement methods were used to process the transverse section micro-images, and the enhancement was evaluated subjectively by direct observation. It was found that histogram equalization (HEQ) and fuzzy set method (FSM) did not enhance the darker parts well, while enhanced the brighter parts excessively. And the enhancement with pulse coupled neural network (PCNN), spiking cortical model (SCM), and FLM are better. On the basis of subjective evaluation, three objective evaluation indexes (contrast, spatial frequency, and gradient) were used to compare and analyze the image quality improvement of PCNN, SCM, and FLM, and we found that FLM had the best enhancement on transverse section micro-images. Then, FLM was used to process longitudinal section micro-images, and the objective evaluation indexes before and after processing were compared. We found FLM also had a good enhancement on longitudinal section micro-images. The results show that FLM was effective in enhancing micro-images of the cerebellum of alligator sinensis, and FLM improved the quality of the longitudinal section micro-images more obviously. The proposed method can improve the quality of the microscopic image of the cerebellum of alligator sinensis so that higher quality images can be obtained, which is beneficial to improving the utilization rate of the material.

Comparative Evaluation of Wrinkle Treatments

Skin wrinkles are one of the most cosmetically concerning signs of aging for women, and improvements in the visual effect of wrinkles become a matter of concern that has an impact on the quality of life. Although various wrinkle treatments are being tried in the area of aesthetics and noninvasive cosmetic surgery, no guideline on how to treat wrinkles exists to date. This study evaluated the clinical effects of four wrinkle treatment methods [fractional erbium yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) laser treatment, intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy, CD-atRA external application, and nutritional therapy with intake of amino acid supplements]. These four methods were selected as promising candidates in a pilot case study to improve wrinkles by following the consensus guideline (Task Force Committee for Evaluation of Anti-Aging Function, J Jpn Cosmet Sci Soc 31:411-431, 2007) for the evaluation of anti-wrinkle effects issued by the Japan Cosmetic Industry Association. The wrinkle area fraction and skin viscoelasticity were measured by objective evaluation. Furthermore, a satisfaction survey of the subjects was conducted on the basis of subjective evaluations using the visual analog scale (VAS) method and in accordance with the guideline for the evaluation of antiwrinkle effects. Fractional erbium YAG laser treatment showed statistically significant improvement in both of the objective evaluations (wrinkle area and skin elasticity). The IPL method showed statistically significant improvement in both of the objective evaluations (wrinkle area and skin elasticity), and it especially demonstrated a more significant difference in skin elasticity. The CD-tretinoin external application method showed statistically significant improvement in both of the objective evaluations (wrinkle area and skin elasticity), and it especially demonstrated a more significant difference in wrinkle area. Nutritional therapy showed statistically significant improvement in wrinkle area, whereas IPL, CD-tretinoin external application, and nutritional therapy demonstrated statistically significant improvement in the degree of wrinkle. As for the subjective assessment of VAS, all four treatments demonstrated equivalent satisfaction. All four minimally invasive procedures (fractional erbium YAG treatment, IPL therapy, CD-atRA external application, and intake of amino acid supplements) showed significant improvement of wrinkles. Comparative evaluation of wrinkles using the same criteria is important. The findings clearly showed that an evidence-based approach to wrinkle treatments supported by validation of their effectiveness is required. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Sonographische Abklärung eines Adnexbefundes

The most important diagnostic test for clarification of an adnexal mass is ultrasonographic evaluation. The prognostic value of an ultrasonographic examination is higher in combination with the patient history and clinical findings. In order to achieve high diagnostic accuracy certain requirements are mandatory. Firstly a high level of expertise, meticulousness and patience of the examiner is crucial. Secondly the use of a high-end ultrasound machine is essential. Thirdly a thorough evaluation and interpretation of sonomorphologic findings are necessary. Furthermore, these skills have to be trained continuously. This is fundamental for subjective, sonographic pattern recognition and the successful use of tumor scores resulting in a correct classification of adnexal tumors. Most adnexal tumors (approximately 75%) can be correctly (sensitivity 95% and specificity 91%) classified as benign or malignant using a set of simple rules. Tumors which cannot be classified (approximately 25%) can be differentiated by ultrasound examination by an expert examiner on the basis of subjective evaluation in about 90% of cases.

Uncertainty, trust, and the regulation of the banking industry

This paper suggests that, in presence of uncertainty, individual choices are made on the basis of subjective evaluations, and the transmission of information is too expensive, so that the decision-making process must largely be based on other agents’ knowledge. Banks operate by developing a network of personal relationships, based on trust, that allows agents to make use of the subjective knowledge of others. The deregulation process of the financial industry of the 1990s was based on the principle that information disclosure would make the market for securities more efficient, increasing risk diversification, and making the financial system safer. Many innovative financial contracts, however, were not backed by trust and reputation mechanism as traditional banking activities. The shadow banking system emerging from these market-based transactions was thus much more risky and fragile than the traditional one, based on private information and unwritten rules of conduct.

Cross Validation of Doppler Ultrasound and Grayscale Imaging for Discrimination of Benign and Malignant Adnexal Masses

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5915/40-2-8349 Objective: To prospectively assess the diagnostic performance of Doppler ultrasound and grayscale imaging for the discrimination of benign and malignant adnexal masses. Study design: Observational study. Duration: January 2002 to December 2003. Setting: Mother and Child Health (MCH) Center, Unit II, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, Pakistan. Subjects: Patients with an adnexal mass who were scheduled for surgery in the study. Patients managed conservatively were excluded. Methods: All subjects underwent a preoperative grayscale and color Doppler ultrasound. On the basis of subjective evaluation, each tumor was classified as benign or malignant. Results of diagnostic studies were correlated with pathological evaluations of the excised specimens. Main outcome measures: Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of both modes of ultrasound. Results: A total of 117 patients were examined during the study period. Gray - scale echopatterns considered ominous for malignancy were solid components, thick septae, papillary projections, and ascites. Using Doppler flow studies, malignant neoplasms offered lower resistance to blood flow, as measured by the resistance index (RI) and the pulsatility index (PI). The mean PI of benign tumors was 1.6 ± 0.4 vs. 0.7 ± 0.1 of malignant masses, and the mean RI was 1.2 ± 0.3 vs. 0.4 ± 0.1 of malignant tumors. The sensitivity and specificity of grayscale was 82% and 80%, while for Doppler imaging it was 91% and 95%, respectively. The positive predictive value of grayscale was 30.0% vs. a 66.7% predictive value of Doppler imaging, and the negative predictive value was 98% vs. 99% of Doppler ultrasound. Conclusion: Doppler ultrasound offers a higher sensitivity and specificity for differentiation of adnexal masses compared to grayscale ultrasound.

Three‐dimensional power Doppler in ovarian tumors

We read with interest the paper recently published by Jokubkiene et al.1 about the role of three-dimensional power Doppler ultrasound (3D-PDU) in discriminating benign from malignant ovarian tumors. First of all, we would like to congratulate the authors for performing this study. They used a similar approach to the one proposed by us2 and their findings—essentially that indices derived from 3D studies of vascularized ovarian tumors are higher in malignant than in benign lesions—are in close agreement with ours. However, we would like to comment on issues relating to their methodology and target population. Whole tumor assessment by 3D-PDU may be inadequate because, in large tumors for example, it is virtually impossible to include the whole tumor in just one volume box. In such cases, information can be lost and subsequent analysis can be subject to bias. Furthermore, in most tumors vascularization is located in a few areas and not evenly distributed throughout the tumor. Thus one might include within the volume box misleading information. Gray signals from stationary blood clots and mucous plugs, for example, will be processed by the Virtual Organ Computer-aided AnaLysis (VOCAL) software as normal, non-malignant tissue that would reduce the relative proportion of vascular data within the sampled volume. Furthermore, if the tumor contains cystic areas, these are irrelevant for analysis. If they contain color voxels resulting from artifacts or noise, 3D-PDU calculations may be erroneously affected. In our opinion, cystic areas should be excluded to avoid this potential source of error. The selection of a 5-cm3 spherical sample volume from the ‘part of the tumor that appeared to be the most vascularized on the basis of subjective evaluation’ was found by the authors to be reproducible, but it would be interesting to know more about the examiners' experience. It may well be that this approach is reproducible in experienced hands but not in those of less experienced examiners. We agree that 3D-PDU is likely to add little to the correct diagnosis of malignancy in a general population of ovarian tumors. However, we believe that the target population for this technique should be a selected one. We also endorse the authors' assertion that diagnostic performance based on the subjective impression of an experienced examiner is difficult to improve upon. Most ovarian tumors can be correctly classified by B-mode ultrasonography. However, there are some ovarian lesions that are very difficult to classify3. Two-dimensional PDU may be useful for predicting malignancy in these tumors, by reducing the false-positive rate, as demonstrated in a multicenter study that included more than 800 ‘complex’ adnexal masses4. However, there are still some benign tumors that can resemble malignant tumors, such as cystadenofibromas, low malignant potential tumors, fibromas, Brenner tumors and Granulosa cell tumors, and which are very difficult to discriminate, especially if there is no evidence of metastatic disease. Many of these tumors will exhibit vascularization and, in these cases, 3D-PDU may play a role by reducing the false-positive rate while not affecting substantially the sensitivity5. The authors report in their paper 31 benign ovarian lesions (39.2% of all benign lesions) that showed unilocular-solid, multilocular-solid and solid appearances (no malignant lesion, however, had a simple unilocular or multilocular appearance). For many examiners these unilocular-solid, multilocular-solid or solid benign tumors would be considered, at the very least, as questionable, and a challenge to accurately distinguish from their malignant counterparts in the absence of metastatic disease. It is not stated how many of these benign tumors had flow detectable within the solid components, but it can be inferred by just looking at the ‘color score’ (88% of benign tumors had a color score ≥ 2) that many of them did. How could these vascularized tumors with solid components, especially if flow was present in the solid component, be classified as benign with a high degree of certainty? In our opinion, it is precisely this population of ovarian tumors that should be assessed by 3D-PDU. Finally, we would have appreciated a more in-depth discussion from the authors about their findings. The papers referred to in the Discussion section are exclusively from the authors' group and other studies that have addressed the same question2, 6 have not been commented upon or compared with their data. J. L. Alcázar*, S. Guerriero , * Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Clínica Universitaria de Navarra, University of Navarra Pamplona, Spain, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ospedale San Giovanni di Dio University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

Relative Effectiveness of Project Delivery and Contract Strategies

Project delivery systems define the roles and responsibilities of the parties involved in a project. They also establish an execution framework in terms of sequencing of design, procurement, and construction. The decision made in the selection of a project delivery system for a project impacts all phases of execution of the project and greatly impacts the efficiency of project execution. Such decisions should be facilitated by thorough analysis. Structured, quantitative decision analysis processes have been shown to have several benefits over the simplistic, holistic, and informal processes that typically characterize subjective evaluations. However, a dearth of quantitative values of project delivery systems established and validated through research has invariably left project managers with no alternative than to make project delivery selection decisions on the basis of subjective evaluations. Development of the needed quantitative values for application in a decision analysis process would greatly enhance the quality of the decision-making process and provide a defensible rationale for selection of project delivery systems for capital projects. This paper presents research findings that provide the needed quantitative values in this area. Based on the quantitative values defined here, interested parties can develop and implement quantitative evaluation of project delivery alternatives to identify the optimal solution for a given project. Multicriteria decision analysis was found to be the suitable approach for a quantitative, analytical evaluation of project delivery systems. Consequently, the quantitative values presented in this paper were developed in accordance with the requirements of the multicriteria decision analysis technique known as simple multiattribute rating technique with swing weights (SMARTS). Utilizing the quantitative values presented here and applying the analysis technique of SMARTS, a decision support tool has been developed and validated for the Construction Industry Institute. The decision support tool is presently being utilized by member companies of the Construction Industry Institute that were privy to its development. With the presentation of the quantitative values in this paper, other parties interested in developing similar tools would benefit from the research results presented here.

Physiological Evaluation on Emotional Change Induced by Imagination

In this study, emotional changes were induced by four imaginations--pleasantness, unpleasantness, arousal, and relaxation. They were induced using situations or pictures, as stimuli for imagination, selected on the basis of subjective evaluation and were examined by analyses of the physiological signals of the central and autonomic nervous systems whether the intended emotions were appropriately achieved, and whether these emotional changes could be distinguished from the analysis of physiological signals. While participants were asked to recall each situation (for experiment 1--free recall) or picture (experiment 2--forced recall) of the four imaginations, Electroencephalogram (EEG) in the area of Fz and Cz, Electrocardiogram (ECG), Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), Skin Temperature (SKT), and Respiration (RSP) were measured. The analysis of the EEG revealed that three emotional states were classified by values of alpha/(alpha + beta) and beta/(alpha + beta) and the autonomic nervous system responses, particularly the average interval of R-R and RSP. The results suggest that the values of alpha/(alpha + beta) or beta/(alpha + beta) in the areas of Fz and Cz and the average interval of R-R and/or RSP can be reliable parameters to measure some of the emotional states.

Electromyographic signal frequency analysis in evaluating muscle fatigue of patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients are commonly classified on the basis of subjective evaluations of pain and fatigue. Surface electromyography (EMG) is an objective method for studying peripheral muscle fatigue. Fifteen patients with PAD and 15 healthy volunteers matched for age and sex were studied. Surface EMG was recorded over the medial gastrocnemius during 100 seconds at 60% of maximal effort. EMG traces were analyzed off-line to obtain the power spectrum. The median frequency was calculated in the first 30 seconds (T0) and between 70 and 100 seconds (T1). Significantly lower T1 values, compared with T0, were found in both the PAD and the control groups (p < .005; p < .05). T0 values were not different between group, whereas T1 values were significantly lower in PAD patients (p < .01). EMG frequency analysis can be considered an easy, painless method providing objective information on muscular performance and fatigue in PAD patients.

平面ディスプレイの人間工学的要件

This paper is concerned with the important visual variables that determine legibility of computer-controlled flat panel displays (FPDs). Thirty-five FPDs (29 LCDs, 3 PDPs, 2 ELDs, and 1 VFD) and five CRTs are analysed in relation to the following photometric properties: (1) Luminance and contrast ratio.(2) Specular reflectance.(3) Viewing angle dependency of contrast. Special equipments are developed and standardized conditions are applied to the measurements. For each visual variable the recommended level is determined on the basis of subjective evaluations and is compared with the presently used levels for that variable on several different displays. It can be concluded that manufacturers should pay more attention to human factors when designing displays.

Decision models of social structure

Modern studies of social structure focus on the individual as the analytic unit out of which kin groups are composed. They view individual behavior as responsive to self‐interest rather than obedient to societal norms and treat kin‐group composition as a by‐product of individual decisions, based on considerations of self‐interest, to join and leave such groups. Decision models of social structure attempt to develop this orientation into a formal and rigorous approach. Earlier decision models have been concerned with systematic retrieval and exhaustive listing of the decision criteria entering into kin‐group affiliation; more recent models have been concerned with improved prediction of individual affiliation and the kin group patterns which result. These later models fall into three types: “information processing models,” “retrodictive models,” and a “model of cultural principles.” All these models are highly predictive of situations in which individual affiliation is constrained by social norm or economic necessity. However, they cannot predict affiliation choices which are left up to the individual and are made on the basis of subjective evaluation, which varies from individual to individual. Kin‐group affiliation usually involves both constraints and opportunities for subjective evaluation of alternatives.