OBJECTIVE: To refine the Physician Documentation Quality Instrument (PDQI) and test the validity and reliability of the 9-item version (PDQI-9). METHODS: Three sets each of admission notes, progress notes and discharge summaries were evaluated by two groups of physicians using the PDQI-9 and an overall general assessment: one gold standard group consisting of program or assistant program direc...

| By means of the mean reliability (de-ned as the mean of the absolute values of log-likelihood ratios), a new design of parallel con-catenated \turbo" codes is proposed. This criterion allows us to describe the behavior of the constituent decoders and, furthermore, to predict the behavior of the iterative decoder for large block lengths. The mean reliability can also be used as a stopping crit...

BACKGROUND The objective was to determine the test-retest reliability and criterion validity of the Physical Activity Scale for Individuals with Physical Disabilities (PASIPD). METHODS Forty-five non-wheelchair dependent subjects were recruited from three Dutch rehabilitation centers. Subjects' diagnoses were: stroke, spinal cord injury, whiplash, and neurological-, orthopedic- or back disord...

OBJECTIVE The objective was to determine the reliability of a portable forearm strength hydraulic dynamometer with a doorknob handle and assess its validity compared with a Cybex 6000 (Cybex International, Inc., Medway, MA) isometric torque assessment. METHOD Eighteen volunteers (with a total of 30 forearms) participated in this one-session methodological study to determine the intra- and int...

The problem of sensor placement is considered. The quality of diagnosis depends on the number and location of measurements. We first deal with this dependence by analysing the observability. The concepts of degree of redundancy is introduced. The criterion of reliability is useful for designer to enhance the reliability of the measurement system. When some variables are required for the control...

PURPOSE The purposes of this study were to evaluate interrater reliability using videotapes and criterion-related and construct validity of the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), aspects of reliability and validity not previously published. METHODS Two experienced pediatric physical therapists rated 30 videotapes of children with cerebral palsy (CP) or Down syndrome (DS) to t...

Increasing demand for automatic large area surveillance has made methods estimating direction of arrival (DOA), especially acoustic methods, an interesting topic. In these systems false alarms and faults are a disturbing factor. This paper presents a reliability criterion and a new method to diminish these errors. In very low signal-to-noise ratio conditions there are seldom any means to improv...

PURPOSE This study adds to the previous work in the field of sport-specific fitness testing by evaluating a tennis-specific agility test called "the 20-yard shuttle test". The aim of the study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability, the inter-rater reliability, and the criterion-related validity of the 20-yard shuttle test on competitive junior tennis players. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS To...