OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Japanese version of the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI-J). DESIGN Cross-sectional study design. SUBJECTS AND METHODS The original Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI) was translated into Japanese according to published guidelines. Subsequently, an observational study of 60 Japanese patients suffering f...

BACKGROUND Recovery after anesthesia and surgery is a complex process and depends on many factors such as patient, anesthesia and surgery conditions as well pre-existing comorbidities. OBJECTIVES The aims of this study were to translate the 40-item quality of recovery score (QoR-40) into Persian and evaluate its psychometric properties in Iranian patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS We enrolled p...

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Korean version of the Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation (K-USER-P) in patients with stroke. Stroke patients participated in this study. The Utrecht Scale for Evaluation of Rehabilitation-Participation was translated from English into Korean. A total of 120 questionnaires involving the K-USER-P were distribute...

INTRODUCTION Newborn hearing screening (NHS) programs are implemented across the globe to detect early hearing impairment. In order to meet this objective, the quality of these programs should be monitored using internationally recognized indicators. OBJECTIVE To evaluate a newborn hearing screening service (NHSS) using international quality indicators. METHODS A retrospective cohort study ...

High throughput sequencing of phylogenetic and functional gene amplicons provides tremendous insight into the structure and functional potential of complex microbial communities. Here, we introduce a highly adaptable and economical PCR approach to barcoding and pooling libraries of numerous target genes. In this approach, we replace gene- and sequencing platform-specific fusion primers with gen...

OBJECTIVES To develop the Pain Assessment Instrument for Cerebral Palsy (PAICP) and to study its test-retest reproducibility and construct validity. DESIGN Cross-sectional validation study. SETTING Homes for severely handicapped. PARTICIPANTS A total of 164 adults with severe cerebral palsy (CP), caregivers, and physiotherapists, and 9 healthy children. INTERVENTIONS The PAICP contains ...

OBJECTIVE To study the concurrent and construct validity and test-retest reliability in the practice setting of an outcome measure for myasthenia gravis (MG). METHODS Eleven centers participated in the validation study of the Myasthenia Gravis Composite (MGC) scale. Patients with MG were evaluated at 2 consecutive visits. Concurrent and construct validities of the MGC were assessed by evaluat...

BACKGROUND In healthcare, a gap exists between what is known from research and what is practiced. Understanding this gap depends upon our ability to robustly measure research utilization. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this systematic review were: to identify self-report measures of research utilization used in healthcare, and to assess the psychometric properties (acceptability, reliability, a...

The photocatalytic oxidation of the non-biodegradable p-nitrotoluene-o-sulfonic acid (p-NTS) in homogeneous (photo-Fenton reactions) and heterogeneous (with TiO2) solutions has been studied at a pilot-scale under solar irradiation at the Plataforma Solar de Almeria (PSA). In this study two different reactors were tested: a medium concentrating radiation system (Heliomans, HM) and a non-concentr...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the reproducibility and validity of self-administered joint counts (JC), measuring tenderness, swelling and the combination of both, in a longitudinal study. METHODS At the outpatient department a form self-administered by patients (SAI-form), was used to measure joint involvement. Concurrent joint examinations were performed by an assessor. The JC and scores for grou...