Retest Data Research Articles

Reliability Of The Visual Analog Scale For Menstrual Cycle Symptoms And Impact On Perceived Performance

PURPOSE: Fluctuations in estrogen during the menstrual cycle are thought to reduce athletic performance and aerobic capacity, hence, the purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of a menstrual cycle survey that proposes to assess the presence of symptoms and the perceived impact on training within collegiate athletes. METHODS: Seven NCAA-Division I women swimmers (19 ± 1 years, 30.1 ± 4.1 BMI), who trained normally participated in this study during the collegiate swim season. Athletes completed an electronic Visual Analog Scale (VAS) assessing menstrual status, as well as the presence and impact of symptoms twice within 30 minutes. Responses were recorded by marking a point on a 100-point line anchored by “not at all” and “often” in response to the presence of menstrual symptoms or “not at all” and “severely impacted” in response to the impact of menstrual symptoms on their training. Test re-test data were analyzed using two-tailed dependent samples t-tests and Intraclass Correlation coefficients (ICC3,1). RESULTS: A significant Intraclass Correlation was observed without a difference between surveys for the presence of mood swings (ICC:0.913, p = 0.143), loneliness (ICC:0.835, p = 0.395), headaches (ICC:0.835, p = 0.057) backaches (ICC:0.958, p = 0.125) and bloating (ICC:0.878, p = 0.198). A significant Intraclass Correlation was also observed without a difference between surveys in the perceived effect on training for cramps (ICC:0.823 p = 0.383), breast pain (ICC:0.818, p = 0.214), and bloating (ICC:0.817, p = 0.857). A significant difference between surveys was observed for athletes’ feelings of anxiousness (ICC:0.896, p = 0.022) and restlessness (ICC:0.707, p = 0.010); as well as the perceived effect anxiety (ICC:0.934, p = 0.041) and backaches (ICC:0.966, p = 0.009) had on training. CONCLUSION: Initial results from this survey suggest an electronic VAS may be a reliable measurement tool for some symptoms, including the frequency of mood swings, loneliness, backaches, bloating and possibly headaches, as well as the perceived effect cramps, breast pain and bloating have on training. Future research should focus on validating the results of this study against performance measures of participants as well as testing the reliability of participants with prior experience completing an electronic VAS.

Discrete choice experiment with duration versus time trade-off: a comparison of test-retest reliability of health utility elicitation approaches in SF-6Dv2 valuation.

To evaluate and compare the test-retest reliability of discrete choice experiments with duration (DCETTO) and time trade-off (TTO) in the Chinese SF-6Dv2 valuation study. During face-to-face interviews, a representative sample of the Chinese general population completed 8 TTO tasks and 10 DCETTO tasks. Retest interviews were conducted after two weeks. For both DCETTO and TTO, the consistency of raw responses between the two tests was firstly evaluated at the individual level. Regressions were conducted to investigate the association between the test-retest reliability and the respondents' characteristics and the severity of health states. Consistency was then analyzed at the aggregate level by comparing the rank order of the coefficients of dimensions. In total, 162 respondents (51.9% male; range 18-80years) completed the two tests. The intraclass correlations coefficient 0.958 for TTO, with identical values accounting for 59.3% of observations. 76.4% of choices were identical for DCETTO, with a Kappa statistic of 0.528. Respondents' characteristics had no significant impact while the severity of health states valued in TTO and DCETTO tasks had a significant impact on the test-retest reliability. Both approaches produced relatively stable rank order of dimensions in constrained model estimations between test and retest data. Individual responses of both approaches are relatively stable over time. The rank orders of dimensions in model estimations between test and retest for TTO and DCETTO are also consistent. The differences of utility estimation between the two tests for DCETTO need to be further investigated based on a larger sample size.

An alternative food neophobia scale (FNS-A) to quantify responses to new foods

An alternative Food Neophobia Scale (FNS-A) was developed in three studies to measure food neophobia (reluctance to eat and avoidance of trying new foods). In Study 1, the original food neophobia scale, FNS (Pliner, & Hobden, 1992), was first critically examined leading to modifications in five and omission of two statements. Furthermore, eight positive and eight negative statements were elicited and introduced along with eight original or modified FNS statements to 575 respondents in South Africa, Lesotho, and Botswana. Study 2 (n = 1010) was used to confirm the factorial structure of the scale, and Study 3 (n = 141) was used to test the reliability of FNS-A through test–retest data. The structure of the scale was analyzed using exploratory (Study 1 and 2) and confirmatory (Study 2) factor analysis, eventually leading to four positive and four negative statements regarding new foods, loaded on two factors labelled approach and avoidance. Test-retest reliability at a 2 weeks’ time interval as well as convergent and divergent validity measured against other scales was good (Study 3). In all three studies, predictive validity was evaluated against willingness to try or expected liking ratings of unfamiliar or novel food names or food concept descriptions. This evaluation showed satisfactory performance. FNS-A is a promising tool for the quantification of individual responses to unfamiliar or novel foods, but further studies in other populations and contexts are needed to confirm the applicability.

The Impact of Rising Reservoir Water Level on the Gravity Field and Seismic Activity in the Reservoir Area: Evidence from the Impoundment of the Three Gorges Reservoir (China)

Using the test–retest data of the relative gravity field and earthquake monitoring catalog of the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) from October 2001 to October 2009, this paper systematically analyzes the changes in the gravity field in the head area of the reservoir and the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of seismic activity during the impoundment process. It also employs the surrogate reshuffling tests to calculate the cross-correlation between the reservoir water level and the seismic activity sequence and discusses the influence of the rising reservoir water level on the gravity field and seismic activity in the reservoir region. Then, by constructing a three-dimensional finite-difference model based on the theory of fluid–solid coupling, the mechanism of reservoir-induced earthquakes is discussed from the aspects of direct reservoir water load and reservoir water infiltration. The results show that: (1) The rising reservoir water level has had a critical impact on the gravity field and seismic activity in the reservoir’s head area. The cumulative changes in the gravity field from October 2001 to November 2008 show that water impounding has led to a huge banded positive anomaly of gravity along the river near Xiangxi, which reached 450 × 10−8 ms−2. The seismicity activity dominated by micro-earthquakes after a 135 m water level rose rapidly, and the monthly average earthquake frequency increased from 2.00 before the impoundment to 92.60 after the 175 m stage. (2) From the beginning of the impoundment to the experimental impoundment stage of 175 m, the time series correlation test result between the monthly frequency of earthquakes and the water level of the reservoir also changed from uncorrelated before the water storage to correlated when the time lag was 0 months at a 95% confidence threshold. This indicates that the seismic activity obviously has a direct relationship with the load pressure produced by the rapid rise of the reservoir water level, which causes the instability of the mines, karst caves, shallow rock strata, and faults within 10 km along the river and near the reservoir bank, and consequently induces earthquakes. (3) As the TGR enters the 175 m high-level operation stage, the cross-correlation test confirmed that the seismic activity and the reservoir water level show negative correlation characteristics under the time lag of 4 to 5 months, indicating that the seismic activity has a lagging response to the reservoir water level change. The continued infiltration of the reservoir water, followed by the softening of the faults and other actions, triggered the Xiangxi M4.1 earthquake at the center of the four quadrants of gravity anomalies near Xiangxi on 22 November 2008. The Xiangxi segment of the reservoir and its periphery, a triangular geological region where the Xiannvshan faults, the Jiuwanxi fault, and the Yangtze River meet, might be at risk of having reservoir-induced tectonic earthquakes.

Robustness and reproducibility of radiomics in T2 weighted images from magnetic resonance image guided linear accelerator in a phantom study

PurposeQuantitative radiomics features extracted from medical images have been shown to provide value in predicting clinical outcomes. The study for robustness and reproducibility of radiomics features obtained with magnetic resonance image guided linear accelerator (MR-Linac) is insufficient. The objective of this work was to investigate the stability of radiomics features extracted from T2-weighted images of MR-Linac for five common effect factors. Materials and methodIn this work, ten jellies, five fruits/vegetables, and a dynamic phantom were used to evaluate the impact of test–retest, intraobserver, varied thicknesses, radiation, and motion. These phantoms were scanned on a 1.5 T MRI system of MR-Linac. For test–retest data, the phantoms were scanned twice with repositioning within 15 min. To assess for intraobserver comparison, the segmentation of MR images was repeated by one observer in a double-blind manner. Three slice thicknesses (1.2 mm, 2.4 mm, and 4.8 mm) were used to select robust features that were insensitive to different thicknesses. The effect of radiation on features was studied by acquiring images when the beam was on. Common movement images of patients during radiotherapy were simulated by a dynamic phantom with five motion states to study the motion effect. A total of 1409 radiomics features, including shape features, first-order features, and texture features, were extracted from the original, wavelet, square, logarithmic, exponential and gradient images. The robustness and reproducibility features were evaluated using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC). ResultThe intraobserver group had the most robust features (936/1079, 86.7%), while the group of motion effects had the lowest robustness (56/936, 6.0%), followed by the group of different thickness cohorts (374/936, 40.0%). The stability of features in the test–retest and radiation groups was 1072 of 1312 (81.7%) and 810 of 936 (86.5%), respectively. Overall, 25 of 1409 (2.4%) radiomics features remained robust in all five tests, mostly focusing on the image type of the wavelet. The number of stable features extracted from when the beam was on was less than that extracted when the beam was off. Shape features were the most robust of all of the features in all of the groups, excluding the motion group. ConclusionCompared with other factors fewer features remained robust to the effect of motion. This result emphasizes the need to consider the effect of respiration motion. The study for T2-weighted images from MR-Linac under different conditions will help us to build a robust predictive model applicable for radiotherapy.

Construct validity, responsiveness, and utility of change indicators of the Dutch-Flemish PROMIS item banks for depression and anxiety administered as computerized adaptive test (CAT): A comparison with the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI).

We evaluated construct validity, responsiveness, and utility of change indicators of the Dutch-Flemish PROMIS adult v1.0 item banks for Depression and Anxiety administered as computerized adaptive test (CAT). Specifically, the CATs were compared to the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) using pre- and re-test data of adult patients treated for common mental disorders (N = 400; median pre-to-re-test interval = 215 days). Construct validity was evaluated with Pearson's correlations and Cohen's ds; responsiveness with Pearson's correlations and pre-post effect sizes (ES); utility of change indicators with kappa coefficients and percentages of (dis)agreement. The results showed that the PROMIS CATs measure similar constructs as matching BSI scales. Under the assumption of measuring similar constructs, the CAT and BSI Depression scales were similarly responsive. For the Anxiety scales, we found a higher responsiveness for CAT (ES = 0.64) compared to the BSI (ES = 0.50). Finally, both CATs categorized the change scores of more patients as changed compared to matching BSI scales, indicating that the PROMIS CATs may be more able to detect actual change than the BSI. Based on these findings, the PROMIS CATs may be considered a modest improvement over matching BSI scales as tools for reviewing treatment progress with patients. We discuss several additional differences between the PROMIS CATs and the BSI to help test users choose instruments. These differences include the adopted measurement theory (Item Response Theory vs. Classical Test Theory), the mode of administration (CAT vs. fixed items), and the area of application (universal vs. predominantly clinical). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Test-Retest Data for the Assessment of Breast MRI Radiomic Feature Repeatability.

BackgroundRadiomic features extracted from breast MRI have potential for diagnostic, prognostic, and predictive purposes. However, before they can be used as biomarkers in clinical decision support systems, features need to be repeatable and reproducible.ObjectiveIdentify repeatable radiomics features within breast tissue on prospectively collected MRI exams through multiple test–retest measurements.Study TypeProspective.Population11 healthy female volunteers.Field Strength/Sequence1.5 T; MRI exams, comprising T2‐weighted turbo spin‐echo (T2W) sequence, native T1‐weighted turbo gradient‐echo (T1W) sequence, diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) sequence using b‐values 0/150/800, and corresponding derived ADC maps.Assessment18 MRI exams (three test–retest settings, repeated on 2 days) per healthy volunteer were examined on an identical scanner using a fixed clinical breast protocol. For each scan, 91 features were extracted from the 3D manually segmented right breast using Pyradiomics, before and after image preprocessing. Image preprocessing consisted of 1) bias field correction (BFC); 2) z‐score normalization with and without BFC; 3) grayscale discretization using 32 and 64 bins with and without BFC; and 4) z‐score normalization + grayscale discretization using 32 and 64 bins with and without BFC.Statistical TestsFeatures' repeatability was assessed using concordance correlation coefficient(CCC) for each pair, i.e. each MRI was compared to each of the remaining 17 MRI with a cut‐off value of CCC > 0.90.ResultsImages without preprocessing produced the highest number of repeatable features for both T1W sequence and ADC maps with 15 of 91 (16.5%) and 8 of 91 (8.8%) repeatable features, respectively. Preprocessed images produced between 4 of 91 (4.4%) and 14 of 91 (15.4%), and 6 of 91 (6.6%) and 7 of 91 (7.7%) repeatable features, respectively for T1W and ADC maps. Z‐score normalization produced highest number of repeatable features, 26 of 91 (28.6%) in T2W sequences, in these images, no preprocessing produced 11 of 91 (12.1%) repeatable features.Data ConclusionRadiomic features extracted from T1W, T2W sequences and ADC maps from breast MRI exams showed a varying number of repeatable features, depending on the sequence. Effects of different preprocessing procedures on repeatability of features were different for each sequence.Level of Evidence2Technical Efficacy Stage1

Time-course of decline in different cognitive domains in Parkinson's disease: a retrospective study.

Cognitive impairment and dementia are common non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD). To elucidate the potentially typical progression of cognitive decline in PD and its variation, we retrospectively surveyed neuropsychological data obtained at the Parkinson-Klinik Ortenau, Germany in the years 1996-2015. Many of the patients in the surveyed period were repeatedly admitted to our clinic and we were thus able to compile neuropsychological re-test data for 252 patients obtained at varying time intervals. Neuropsychological testing was conducted with the NAI (Nürnberger Alters-Inventar). This battery provides sub-tests that examine cognitive processing speed, executive function, working memory, and verbal/visual memory functions. The re-test time span varied across patients from below 1year up to about 12years. Most patients were seen twice, but some patients were tested up to eight times. The steepest rates of cognitive decline were observed for the NAI sub-tests Trail-Making, Maze Test, and Stroop-Word Reading/Color Naming. Intermediate rates of decline were found for Digit Span, Word List-Immediate Recall, and Picture Test. Stroop Test-Interference, Word List-Delayed Recognition, and Figure Test exhibited the slowest decline rates. We did not observe a significant effect of age at diagnosis or gender on the rate of decline. In sum, this study retrospectively evaluated cognitive decline in a sample of patients with PD. Our data suggest a broad cognitive decline that particularly affects the cognitive capacities for processing speed, executive functions, and immediate memory functions.

Cognitive impairment and functional change in COVID-19 patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation.

Cognitive impairment is increasingly recognized as a sequela of COVID-19. It is unknown how cognition changes and relates to functional gain during inpatient rehabilitation. We administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) at admission to 77 patients undergoing inpatient rehabilitation for COVID-19 in a large US academic medical center. Forty-five patients were administered the MoCA at discharge. Functional gain was assessed by change in the quality indicator for self-care (QI-SC). In the full sample, 80.5% of patients exhibited cognitive impairment on admission, which was associated with prior delirium. Among 45 patients with retest data, there were significant improvements in MoCA and QI-SC. QI-SC score gain was higher in patients who made clinically meaningful changes on the MoCA, an association that persisted after accounting for age and delirium history. Cognitive impairment is frequent among COVID-19 patients, but improves over time and is associated with functional gain during inpatient rehabilitation.

It is never as good the second time around: Brain areas involved in salience processing habituate during repeated drug cue exposure in treatment engaged abstinent methamphetamine and opioid users

The brain response to drug-related cues is an important marker in addiction-medicine. However, the temporal dynamics of this response in repeated exposure to cues are not well known. In an fMRI drug cue-reactivity task, the presence of rapid habituation or sensitization was investigated by modeling time and its interaction with condition (drug>neutral) using an initial discovery-sample. Replication of this temporal response was tested in two other clinical populations all abstinent during their early recovery (treatment). Sixty-five male participants (35.8 ± 8.4 years-old) with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) were recruited as the discovery-sample from an abstinence-based residential treatment program. A linear mixed effects model was used to identify areas with a time-by-condition interaction in the discovery-sample. Replication of these effects was tested in two other samples (29 female with MUD from a different residential program and 22 male with opioid use disorder from the same residential program as the discovery sample). The second replication sample was re-tested within two weeks. In the discovery-sample, clusters within the VMPFC, amygdala and ventral striatum showed both a main effect of condition and a condition-by-time interaction, indicating a habituating response to drug-related but not neutral cues. The estimates for the main effects and interactions were generally consistent between the discovery and replication-samples across all clusters. The re-test data showed a consistent lack of drug > neutral and habituation response within all selected clusters in the second cue-exposure session. The VMPFC, amygdala and ventral striatum show habituation in response to drug-related cues which is consistent among different clinical populations. This habituated response in the first session of cue-exposure and lack of reactivity in the second session of exposure may be important for informing the development of cue-desensitization interventions.

Consistency and social identification: a test-retest study of flashbulb memories collected on the day of the 2016 Brussels bombings

ABSTRACT Flashbulb memories are consistent and vivid representations of the way people learnt of an important, surprising and consequential event. We had two main aims for this study. Our first aim was to evaluate the consistency of flashbulb memories as accurately as possible (by collecting data on the day and using an interview method at retest) and contrast these findings with other operationalisations such as vividness or confidence but also with event memory. Our second aim was to capitalise on the particular case-study that is Belgium to examine social identification. Within a few hours after the terrorist attacks in Brussels in March 2016, a small sample of students completed a questionnaire on the way they learnt about the event and their knowledge of it. Retest data was obtained fifteen months later, through an in-depth interview. Our results show a relatively high consistency over time as well as high vividness and confidence for their memory of the reception context. We also measured participants’ identification at three levels: local (Brussels) – national (Belgium) – supranational (Europe). In the particular context of the Brussels bombings, social identification with Brussels and Europe correlated with measures of flashbulb memory while social identification with Belgium did not.

The Alcohol and Drug Cognitive Enhancement (ACE) Screening Tool: A simple and brief questionnaire to screen for cognitive impairment in substance use disorder treatment services

The objective of this study was to determine the test–retest reliability; construct and criterion validity; and test operating characteristics of a newly developed cognitive impairment risk factor screening instrument, the Alcohol and Drug Cognitive Enhancement (ACE) Screening Tool. Participants in the validation study were 129 adults with substance use disorder (SUD) enrolled in residential SUD treatment services and 209 normal controls. Test and retest data were available for 36 participants with SUD and 40 normal control individuals on the ACE Screening Tool. Test–retest reliability was excellent (ICC = 0.97). The ACE Screening Tool was significantly correlated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning—Adult Version (BRIEF-A), Test of Premorbid Functioning (TOPF) and Five Point Test, establishing construct validity. Criterion validity was established using a ternary severity variable constructed using results obtained on the MoCA and BRIEF-A. Test operating characteristics analysis showed 93% sensitivity, 46% specificity, 33% positive predictive power, and 96% negative predictive power using a cut-score of >3. Those high levels of sensitivity and negative predictive power indicated that the tool would likely detect cognitive impairment when present and should therefore be considered suitable as an initial screening tool for cognitive impairment in individuals attending SUD services.

Revisiting the global workspace orchestrating the hierarchical organization of the human brain

A central challenge in neuroscience is how the brain organizes the information necessary to orchestrate behaviour. Arguably, this whole-brain orchestration is carried out by a core subset of integrative brain regions, a ‘global workspace’, but its constitutive regions remain unclear. We quantified the global workspace as the common regions across seven tasks as well as rest, in a common ‘functional rich club’. To identify this functional rich club, we determined the information flow between brain regions by means of a normalized directed transfer entropy framework applied to multimodal neuroimaging data from 1,003 healthy participants and validated in participants with retest data. This revealed a set of regions orchestrating information from perceptual, long-term memory, evaluative and attentional systems. We confirmed the causal significance and robustness of our results by systematically lesioning a generative whole-brain model. Overall, this framework describes a complex choreography of the functional hierarchical organization of the human brain.

Hedging strategy for commodity futures based on SVM-KNN

In view of the problem of excessive exposure to risks in the field of quantitative investment in commodity futures and policy failure in the low volatility market environment, a new quantitative investment strategy using SVM-KNN combined classifier to hedge multi-factor futures is proposed and applied to the management of quantitative fund. The quantitative investment strategy can not only reduce the overall systemic risk of the investment portfolio, but also adapt to the long-term environment of the commodity futures market. The retest data and the results of real trading show that the SVM-KNN-based hedging strategy of commodity futures is significantly higher than the traditional CTA trend tracking strategy in the annual rate of return and the Sharpe ratio, and the retracting of the cross period is greatly reduced.

Hedging strategy for commodity futures based on SVM-KNN

In view of the problem of excessive exposure to risks in the field of quantitative investment in commodity futures and policy failure in the low volatility market environment, a new quantitative investment strategy using SVM-KNN combined classifier to hedge multi-factor futures is proposed and applied to the management of quantitative fund. The quantitative investment strategy can not only reduce the overall systemic risk of the investment portfolio, but also adapt to the long-term environment of the commodity futures market. The retest data and the results of real trading show that the SVM-KNN-based hedging strategy of commodity futures is significantly higher than the traditional CTA trend tracking strategy in the annual rate of return and the Sharpe ratio, and the retracting of the cross period is greatly reduced.

Data-Driven Dietary Patterns and Diet Quality Scores: Reproducibility and Consistency in Sex and Age Subgroups of Poles Aged 15–65 Years

This study aimed to assess: (i) the test–retest reproducibility of identification of data-driven dietary patterns (DPs) derived using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and hypothesis-driven DPs (diet quality scores); (ii) the consistency of data-driven DPs with diet quality scores in sex and age subgroups of Poles aged 15–65 years. The study involved 504 subjects (55.6% of females). Data on food consumption frequency (33 food items) were collected twice with a two-week interval using the Dietary Habits and Nutrition Beliefs Questionnaire (KomPAN®) in a self-administered version (test and retest). Two major data-driven DPs (‘Prudent’ and ‘Western’) were identified in the total sample, sex groups and four age groups separately from test and retest data. Two diet quality scores were analysed: Pro-Healthy-Diet-Index-10 (pHDI-10) and Non-Healthy-Diet-Index-14 (nHDI-14). Tucker’s congruence coefficient indicated fair-to-good similarity of data-driven DPs between test and retest for all study subgroups, except for males. Across study subgroups, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between the test and retest ranged from 0.56 to 0.86 for ‘Prudent’ DP and 0.57 to 0.82 for ‘Western’ DP, with the lowest values in males. The ICC (test vs. retest) ranged from 0.84 to 0.88 for pHDI-10 and 0.75 to 0.88 for nHDI-14. Comparing the data-driven DPs and diet quality scores, the Spearman’s correlations ranged from 0.63 to 0.93 between ‘Prudent’ DP and pHDI-10, and from 0.60 to 0.81 between ‘Western’ DP and nHDI-14. The test–retest reproducibility of data-driven DPs and diet quality scores and their consistency were acceptable in most of the study subgroups, with a tendency to be higher for pro-health than unhealthy DPs. Data-driven DPs were more reproducible in females than males. The reproducibility of diet quality scores tended to be better in males than females and was the highest in 25–44-year-olds. The KomPAN® questionnaire can be recommended to use data-driven DPs and diet quality scores to describe the habitual diet in people aged 15–65 years.

Design, Validity, and Reliability of a New Test, Based on an Inertial Measurement Unit System, for Measuring Cervical Posture and Motor Control in Children with Cerebral Palsy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to design and propose a new test based on inertial measurement unit (IMU) technology, for measuring cervical posture and motor control in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and to evaluate its validity and reliability. Methods: Twenty-four individuals with CP (4–14 years) and 24 gender- and age-matched controls were evaluated with a new test based on IMU technology to identify and measure any movement in the three spatial planes while the individual is seated watching a two-minute video. An ellipse was obtained encompassing 95% of the flexion/extension and rotation movements in the sagittal and transversal planes. The protocol was repeated on two occasions separated by 3 to 5 days. Construct and concurrent validity were assessed by determining the discriminant capacity of the new test and by identifying associations between functional measures and the new test outcomes. Relative reliability was determined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for test–retest data. Absolute reliability was obtained by the standard error of measurement (SEM) and the Minimum Detectable Change at a 90% confidence level (MDC90). Results: The discriminant capacity of the area and both dimensions of the new test was high (Area Under the Curve ≈ 0.8), and consistent multiple regression models were identified to explain functional measures with new test results and sociodemographic data. A consistent trend of ICCs higher than 0.8 was identified for CP individuals. Finally, the SEM can be considered low in both groups, although the high variability among individuals determined some high MDC90 values, mainly in the CP group. Conclusions: The new test, based on IMU data, is valid and reliable for evaluating posture and motor control in children with CP.

Exploration of Knowledge, Perception and Adaptation Strategies of the Mbita Fisher Community to CC/ CV

Decreasing livelihoods of fishers’ communities is blamed on consequences of global warming and climate change impacts. Food security and livelihoods of the world’s 36 million fishers and the nearly 1.5 billion consumers rely on fish for their dietary animal protein. Past studies concentrated on fisher communities and climate variability in marine waters and oceans; mainly investigating the impact of climate variability on fish distribution and production. Limited research has addressed the interaction between impacts of climate change on the fishing activities on inland and fresh waters such as in Lake Victoria and how the fishers are coping and adapting. This article discussion focuses on Lake Victoria shore location of Mbita where the livelihood activity of local community is fishing. The interactive field study was guided by these two research objectives to: Determine the fishers’ knowledge and perception of climate change and variability in Mbita sub-county. Establish the effect of gender in climate change adaptive activities among the Mbita county fishers. The study used a constructivist epistemology and the mixed methods research design to help it achieve its findings. Yamane’s formula (1964) is used to get the sample size of 388 respondents from a population of 13191 fishers. Primary data was collected through use of questionnaires, interview schedules for KII and FGDs. Secondary data collection was collected through reviewing of documented information, such as the fish catch data and climate (temperature/rainfall data) of Mbita for the last 30 years data to get the trend of these elements and to determine climate variability and change. Content validity of the instrument was done through experts; supervisors. Reliability was attained through test and re-test Data analysis was accomplished through use of computer based software (SPSS). Presentation was done in descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings were:-there was gender discrimination in access and control of key fishing resources which support adaptive activities that makes women more vulnerable to CC and CCV hazards and disasters. The study found that majority fishers had clear perception of CC but only 46% had knowledge of CC. The fishers relied more on indigenous knowledge and meteorological forecasts were too technical and considered irrelevant. The study further found that erratic variations in temperatures and rainfall were greatest stressors with statistical significant p-value = of 0.02. Wet seasons destroyed infrastructure, increased weather-borne diseases and endangered the fishers’ lives while dry and hot season resulted in insufficient fish catches and near starvation food consumption. Statistically loss life and access to food were significant at p-value of 0.001 and p-value of 0.000 respectively. The study found that CCA requires access and control of factors of production which were traditionally under the control of male fishers making women more vulnerable and susceptible to surviving through chamas and table banking activities. Statistically access to and control was significant to adaptation at p-value of 0.000. The study concluded that lack of alternative livelihood opportunities/options is the major constraints to adaptation for people living in the Lake Victoria region escalated with limitation of skills outside fishing industry, limitation of other employable professional skills including lack of capital. The study recommends a transdiciplinary consientization of adaptive strategies which can translate into flexible and sustainable CCA gender inclusive livelihood activities. Future research should explore participatory action research on environmental influences affecting CCA by comparing findings across other beaches.

Operationalisation Of Older Adults’ Lifetime Physical Activity Data

Despite the broad knowledge about general positive health effects of regular exercise, physical activity recommendations are mostly not fulfilled. Accompanying our ageing society, research often focuses on health status and activity habits at older age. Here, knowledge about triggers on and effects of very long-term physical activity (PA) is needed. PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship of PA during the lifespan and at old age. METHODS: Overall 47 nursing home residents (n = 47) aged 81.7 ± 3.6 years partcipated. The Lifetime Leisure Physical Activity Questionnaire (LLPAQ) and accelerometers (4 out of 7 days; MyWellnessKey ©) were used. LLPAQ captured lifetime leisure, housekeeping and occupational activity levels across 7 lifetime episodes. The LLPAQ retest data was gained from a subcohort (n = 14) six weeks after the first elicitation. Individual questionnaire and accelerometer data was converted to METs (Metabolic equivalent of task) and used for further data analysis. Individual estimation inaccuracies were computed as the ratio of self-reported to objectively measured current PA. RESULTS: A linear association between accelerometer and LLPAQ data (r = .31, p = .033) for last year’s PA was found. Test-retest reliability (ICC) was .7 (CV = 118%, SEM = 6.8, / 63.7%). Internal consistency was (Cronbachs α) 0.8. The average inaccuracy (overestimation) in self-reported data was 176 % (CI-95% 120-232%). Adjusted for individual innaccuracy, PA at old age significantly correlated with three age episodes (r = .354; r = .336; r = .323; p < .05). Likewise, innaccuracy-adjusted self-report data was sufficient to distinguish between individuals grouped as inactive or active (PA guidelines) in lifetime and current PA (Hotelling’s t2 = 45-164; p ≤ .002). CONCLUSIONS: The observed inaccuracy (overestimation) in self-reported data aligns with findings in the literature (Sallis & Saelens, 2000; Tucker et al., 2011). The findings in individually processed data indicate a relationship of lifetime and old age PA. Future studies might enhance the applicability of methods for self-report PA data handling. Valid lifetime PA data might enhance further research on the relationship of old age PA and disease occurrence.

Using Retest Data to Evaluate and Improve Effort‐Moderated Scoring

AbstractThere has been a growing research interest in the identification and management of disengaged test taking, which poses a validity threat that is particularly prevalent with low‐stakes tests. This study investigated effort‐moderated (E‐M) scoring, in which item responses classified as rapid guesses are identified and excluded from scoring. Using achievement test data composed of test takers who were quickly retested and showed differential degrees of disengagement, three basic findings emerged. First, standard E‐M scoring accounted for roughly one‐third of the score distortion due to differential disengagement. Second, a modified E‐M scoring method that used more liberal time thresholds performed better—accounting for two‐thirds or more of the distortion. Finally, the inability of E‐M scoring to account for all of the score distortion suggests the additional presence of nonrapid item responses that reflect less‐than‐full engagement by some test takers.