780 resultados para Quality of a dissertation
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En s'appuyant sur la littérature scientifique et l'état de la recherche, cet article a pour objectif de montrer pourquoi la prise en compte du sentiment de gratitude peut s'avérer utile dans le contexte palliatif en mettant en évidence dans quelle mesure cette émotion ou disposition individuelle: 1) entre en résonance avec le concept de croissance posttraumatique et certains enjeux relationnels chez les patients en fin de vie; 2) représente un facteur favorisant le bien-être et la qualité de vie; 3) peut être considérée comme un facteur protecteur contre les troubles psychopathologiques. Based on the scientific literature and the state of research, this article aims to show why the feeling of gratitude may represent a point of interest for palliative care. We will highlight the following in this article: 1) why this feeling of gratitude resonates with the concept of post-traumatic growth and relational challenges in end-of-life patients; 2) in which measure this feeling represents a factor contributing to well-being and quality of life; 3) in which measure this feeling may be considered as a protective factor against psychopathological troubles.
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BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) may impair quality of life (QoL) in paediatric patients. We aimed to evaluate in a nationwide cohort whether patients experience QoL in a different way when compared with their parents. METHODS: Sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics were prospectively acquired from paediatric patients and their parents included in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study. Disease activity was evaluated by the Paediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (PCDAI) and the Paediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index (PUCAI). We assessed QoL using the KIDSCREEN questionnaire. The QoL domains were analysed and compared between children and parents according to type of disease, parents' age, origin, education and marital status. RESULTS: We included 110 children and parents (59 Crohn's disease [CD], 45 ulcerative colitis [UC], 6 IBD unclassified [IBDU]). There was no significant difference in QoL between CD and UC/IBDU, whether the disease was active or in remission. Parents perceived overall QoL, as well as 'mood', 'family' and 'friends' domains, lower than the children themselves, independently of their place of birth and education. However, better concordance was found on 'school performance' and 'physical activity' domains. Marital status and age of parents significantly influenced the evaluation of QoL. Mothers and fathers being married or cohabiting perceived significantly lower mood, family and friends domains than their children, whereas mothers living alone had a lower perception of the friends domain; fathers living alone had a lower perception of family and mood subscores. CONCLUSION: Parents of Swiss paediatric IBD patients significantly underestimate overall QoL and domains of QoL of their children independently of origin and education.
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BACKGROUND: A single overall rating of quality of life (QoL) is a sensitive method that is often used in population surveys. However, the exact meaning of response choices is unclear. In particular, uneven spacing may affect the way QoL ratings should be analyzed and interpreted. This study aimed to determine the intervals between response choices to a single-item QoL assessment. METHODS: A secondary analysis was conducted on data from the Lc65+ cohort study and two additional, population-based, stratified random samples of older people (N = 5,300). Overall QoL was rated as excellent, very good, good, fair or poor. A QoL score (range 0-100) was derived from participants' answers to a 28-item QoL assessment tool. A transformed QoL score ranging from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) was calculated. The same procedure was repeated to compute seven domain-specific QoL subscores (Feeling of safety; Health and mobility; Autonomy; Close entourage; Material resources; Esteem and recognition; Social and cultural life). RESULTS: Mean (95 % confidence intervals) QoL scores were 96.23 (95.81-96.65) for excellent, 93.09 (92.74-93.45) for very good, 81.45 (80.63-82.27) for good, 65.44 (62.67-68.20) for fair and 54.52 (45.31-63.73) for poor overall QoL, corresponding to transformed QoL scores of respectively 5.00, 4.70, 3.58, 2.05, and 1.00. Ordinality of the categories excellent to poor was preserved in all seven QoL subscores. CONCLUSIONS: The excellent-to-poor rating scale provides an ordinal measure of overall QoL. The intervals between response choices are unequal, but an interval scale can be obtained after adequate recoding of excellent, very good, good, fair and poor.
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BACKGROUND: Little is known about the trajectory of quality of life (QoL) following a first episode of psychotic mania in bipolar disorder (BD). This 18-month longitudinal study investigated the trajectory of QoL, and the influence of premorbid adjustment and symptoms on 18-month QoL in a cohort of young people experiencing a first episode of psychotic mania. METHODS: As part of an overarching clinical trial, at baseline, sixty participants presenting with a first episode of psychotic mania (BD Type 1 - DSM-IV) completed symptomatic and functional assessments in addition to the Premorbid Adjustment Scale - General Subscale. Symptom measures were repeated at 18-month follow up. QoL was rated using the Quality of Life Scale (QLS) at designated time points. RESULTS: Mean QLS scores at initial measurement (8 weeks) were 61% of the maximum possible score, increasing significantly to 70% at 12 months, and 71.2% at 18-month follow-up. Premorbid adjustment and 18-month depressive symptoms were significantly associated with QoL at 18-month follow-up. LIMITATIONS: Study limitations include the small sample size, inclusion of participants with psychotic mania only, use of measures originally designed for use with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and lack of premorbid or baseline measurement of QoL. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that QoL can be maintained early in BD, and reinforce the importance of assertively treating depressive symptoms throughout the course of this disorder. The emergence of a link between premorbid adjustment and poorer QoL in this cohort highlights the importance of assessing facets of adjustment when planning psychological interventions.
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OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to apply psychometric theory to develop and validate a visual grading scale for assessing the visual perception of digital image quality anteroposterior (AP) pelvis. METHODS: Psychometric theory was used to guide scale development. Seven phantom and seven cadaver images of visually and objectively predetermined quality were used to help assess scale reliability and validity. 151 volunteers scored phantom images, and 184 volunteers scored cadaver images. Factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha were used to assess scale validity and reliability. RESULTS: A 24-item scale was produced. Aggregated mean volunteer scores for each image correlated with the rank order of the visually and objectively predetermined image qualities. Scale items had good interitem correlation (≥0.2) and high factor loadings (≥0.3). Cronbach's alpha (reliability) revealed that the scale has acceptable levels of internal reliability for both phantom and cadaver images (α = 0.8 and 0.9, respectively). Factor analysis suggested that the scale is multidimensional (assessing multiple quality themes). CONCLUSION: This study represents the first full development and validation of a visual image quality scale using psychometric theory. It is likely that this scale will have clinical, training and research applications. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: This article presents data to create and validate visual grading scales for radiographic examinations. The visual grading scale, for AP pelvis examinations, can act as a validated tool for future research, teaching and clinical evaluations of image quality.
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BACKGROUND: The use of a robotic surgical system is claimed to allow precise traction and counter-traction, especially in a narrow pelvis. Whether this translates to improvement of the quality of the resected specimen is not yet clear. The aim of the study was to compare the quality of the TME and the short-term oncological outcome between robotic and laparoscopic rectal cancer resections. METHODS: 20 consecutive robotic TME performed in a single institution for rectal cancer (Rob group) were matched 1:2 to 40 laparoscopic resections (Lap group) for gender, body mass index (BMI), and distance from anal verge on rigid proctoscopy. The quality of TME was assessed by 2 blinded and independent pathologists and reported according to international standardized guidelines. RESULTS: Both samples were well matched for gender, BMI (median 25.9 vs. 24.2 kg/m(2), p = 0.24), and level of the tumor (4.1 vs. 4.8 cm, p = 0.20). The quality of the TME was better in the Robotic group (complete TME: 95 vs. 55 %; p = 0.0003, nearly complete TME 5 vs. 37 %; p = 0.04, incomplete TME 0 vs. 8 %, p = 0.09). A trend for lower positive circumferential margin was observed in the Robotic group (10 vs. 25 %, p = 0.1). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that robotic-assisted surgery improves the quality of TME for rectal cancer. Whether this translates to better oncological outcome needs to be further investigated.
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PURPOSE: In obesity prevention, understanding psychosocial influences in early life is pivotal. Reviews reported contradictory results and a lack of longitudinal studies focusing on underlying lifestyle factors. This study tested whether psychosocial Quality-Of-Life (QOL) was associated with pre-schoolers' lifestyle and adiposity changes over one school year and whether lifestyle moderated the latter. It was hypothesised that QOL might not impact adiposity in everybody but that this might depend on preceding lifestyle. METHOD: Longitudinal data from 291 Swiss pre-schoolers (initially 3.9-6.3 years) was available. The following measures were used in longitudinal regressions: psychosocial QOL by PedsQL, adiposity (BMI z-score, waist, fat%), diet (food frequency), sedentary time and accelerometer-based activity. RESULTS: Concerning lifestyle, low psychosocial QOL was only related to unfavourable changes in diet (less fruit β = 0.21 and more fat intake β = -0.28) and lower physical activity (β = 0.21). Longitudinal QOL-adiposity relations appeared only after moderation by lifestyle factors (beta-range 0.13-0.67). Low psychosocial QOL was associated with increased adiposity in children with an unhealthy diet intake or high sedentary time. By contrast, low psychosocial QOL was associated with decreasing adiposity in high fruit consumers or more physically active pre-schoolers. CONCLUSION: Results emphasise the need for testing moderation in the QOL-adiposity relation. An unhealthy diet can be a vulnerability factor and high physical activity a protective factor in QOL-related adiposity. Consequently, QOL and lifestyle should be targeted concurrently in multi-factorial obesity prevention. The environment should be an 'activity encouraging, healthy food zone' that minimises opportunities for stress-induced eating. In addition, appropriate stress coping skills should be acquired.
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Sixty-nine entire male pigs with different halothane genotype (homozygous halothanepositive – nn-, n=36; and homozygous halothane negative – NN-, n=33) were fed with a supplementation of magnesium sulphate (Mg) and/or L-tryptophan (Trp) in the diet for 5days before slaughter. Animals were housed individually and were submitted to stressful ante mortem conditions (mixed in the lorry according to treatments and transported 1h on rough roads). Individual feed intake was recorded during the 5-day treatment. At the abattoir, pig behaviour was assessed in the raceway to the stunning system and during the stunning period by exposure to CO2. Muscle pH, colour, water holding capacity, texture and cathepsin activities were determined to assess meat quality. The number of pigs with an individual feed intake lower than 2kg/day was significantly different among diets (P<0.05; Control: 8.7%; Mg&Trp: 43.5%; Trp:17.4%) and they were considered to have inadequate supplement intake. During the antemortem period, 15.2% of pigs included in the experiment died, and this percentagedecreased to 8.7% in those pigs with a feed intake > 2kg/day, all of them from thestress-sensitive pigs (nn). In general, no differences were observed in the behaviour ofpigs along the corridor leading to the stunning system and inside the CO2 stunningsystem. During the stunning procedure, Trp diet showed shorter periods of muscularexcitation than control and Mg&Trp diets. The combination of a stressful ante mortemtreatment and Mg&Trp supplementation led to carcasses with high incidence of severeskin lesions. Different meat quality results were found when considering all pigs orconsidering only those with adequate supplement intake. In this later case, Trp increased pH45 (6.15) vs Control diet (5.96) in the Longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle (P<0.05) and pH at 24h (Trp: 5.59 vs C: 5.47) led to a higher incidence of dark, firm and dry (DFD) traits in SM muscle (P<0.05). Genotype affected negatively all the meat quality traits. Seventy-five percent of LT and 60.0% of the SM muscles from nn pigs wereclassified as pale, soft and exudative (PSE), while none of the NN pigs showed these traits (P<0.0001). No significant differences were found between genotypes on the incidence of DFD meat. Due to the negative effects observed in the Mg&Trp group in feed intake and carcass quality, the utilization of a mixture of magnesium sulphate and tryptophan is not recommended
Resumo:
Sixty-one animals with different Halothane genes (homozygous halothane positive, n=34; and homozygous halothane negative, n=27) were fed with three diets (controlgroup, with no supplement; magnesium (Mg) group with 1.28g MgCO3/kg and tryptophan (Trp) group with 5g L-Trp/kg) during the last 5 days before slaughter. Animals were submitted to minimal stress ante mortem conditions. Pig behaviour was recorded at the experimental farm, raceway to the CO2 stunning system and during the stunning period. Corneal reflexes were recorded after stunning as well. There were no differences in feed intake among diets (p>0.05) during the 5 days of treatment. Thehalothane positive (nn) group had lower intake than the halothane negative (NN) group(p<0.01). The behaviour of the pigs in the raceway did not differ (p>0.05) among treatments or halothane genotype. A significant (p<0.001) interaction diet*halothane was found in the time to appear the first retreat attempt during the exposure to the CO2 system. In the nn group, the time of performing the first retreat attempt was later in the Mg (p<0.05) than the Control group. Moreover, in the Mg group, the nn had a later (p<0.05) first retreat attempt than the NN. Thus, Mg supplementation could have a positive effect on welfare of nn pigs. The nn had a lower proportion of animals thatshowed corneal reflexes after stunning than NN, indicating a higher effectiveness of thestunning method in nn pigs. Neither Mg nor Trp affected carcass quality and meat quality parameters, although significant differences were found between genotypes
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Service quality has been a hot topic in services marketing research since the ‘80s. Although it has been widely researched in the B2C context, as well as there is some research in the B2B side, it has received very little attention specifically in the context of the ASP (Application Service Provider) business model. The thesis uses streams of service quality literature in B2C and B2B as well as research of the ASP model to form a comprehensive understanding of service quality in the context of the ASPs. The empirical part consists of a case study of Netvisor, a fast-growing Finnish ASP providing e-accounting services. The key findings are that some traditional service quality dimensions seem to apply also in the ASP context and the relative importance of some dimensions differs with regard to different customer levels. Suggestions are made to improve the service quality of the case company.
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[spa] Este trabajo realiza un estudio empírico sobre los efectos, que se señalan en las discusiones teóricas, de la utilización del valor razonable (VR) frente al coste histórico (CH), utilizando dos muestras de explotaciones agrícolas, una de las cuales valora sus activos biológicos a CH y la otra a VR. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en los beneficios e ingresos entre ambas muestras, ni siquiera en sus volatilidades. Tampoco se encontraron diferencias significativas en rentabilidad, manipulación contable, ni en el poder de ambos criterios de valoración para predecir los flujos de tesorería. Por el contrario, la mayor parte de los tests realizados revelan un mayor poder de los beneficios calculados bajo el VR para la predicción de los beneficios futuros, respecto de cuando son calculados bajo el CH. El estudio proporciona también evidencia empírica de prácticas contables defectuosas de CH en el sector agrícola, concluyendo que el VR puede representar un criterio de valoración interesante para un sector, como el agrícola, caracterizado por el predominio de pequeñas explotaciones familiares.
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[spa] Este trabajo realiza un estudio empírico sobre los efectos, que se señalan en las discusiones teóricas, de la utilización del valor razonable (VR) frente al coste histórico (CH), utilizando dos muestras de explotaciones agrícolas, una de las cuales valora sus activos biológicos a CH y la otra a VR. No se encontraron diferencias significativas en los beneficios e ingresos entre ambas muestras, ni siquiera en sus volatilidades. Tampoco se encontraron diferencias significativas en rentabilidad, manipulación contable, ni en el poder de ambos criterios de valoración para predecir los flujos de tesorería. Por el contrario, la mayor parte de los tests realizados revelan un mayor poder de los beneficios calculados bajo el VR para la predicción de los beneficios futuros, respecto de cuando son calculados bajo el CH. El estudio proporciona también evidencia empírica de prácticas contables defectuosas de CH en el sector agrícola, concluyendo que el VR puede representar un criterio de valoración interesante para un sector, como el agrícola, caracterizado por el predominio de pequeñas explotaciones familiares.
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There are several determinants that influence household location decisions. More concretely, recent economic literature assigns an increasingly important role to the variables governing quality of life. Nevertheless, the spatial stationarity of the parameters is implicitly assumed in most studies. Here we analyse the role of quality of life in urban economics and test for the spatial stationarity of the relationship between city growth and quality of life.
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In recent years, we have seen how the quality of work life has been focused and defined by the European Commission (EC). In our study we compare the EC definition with the academic one and try to see how close they are. We also analyse the possibility of applying the institutional definition to the Spanish case through the development of specific indicators. Our main conclusions are that QWL is increasingly important for policy makers. In addition, it is essential to have objective indicators and to conduct surveys in order to reliably measure QWL.