BACKGROUND It has been shown that the clinical state of one patient can be represented by known measured variables of interest, each of which then form the element of a fuzzy set as point in the unit hypercube. We hypothesized that precise comparison of a single patient with the average patient of a large double blind controlled randomized study is possible using fuzzy theory. METHODS/PRINCIP...

Our Call for Papers for a Special Issue on Emerging Markets in December 2000 generated 64 submissions. Of these papers, we selected seven papers, making the acceptance rate for this Special Issue in the same class as the very top finance journals. The selection procedure was as objective as possible. First, each submission was double-blind reviewed by two referees. The referees scored each pape...

The treatment of severe asthmatics aged 1-3 years with budesonide administered via Nebuhaler and Laerdal facemask was assessed in a six month, double blind, placebo controlled study. Patients were randomised to budesonide (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20) treatment. Daily symptom scores were recorded by parents and clinic visits occurred every six weeks. Cough scores improved significantly with bude...

60 Schizophrenic patients were given LiCo(3)/Chlorpromazine for 4 weeks, in a double blind cross over study with two placebo crossovers of 1 week before and two weeks after active treatment. Several core schizophrenic features showed significant reduction in severity with lithium. However, CPZ treatment was superior in terms of improvement, as compared to the other group on MBPRS and CGIS. Targ...

OBJECTIVE To test whether people who report being sensitive to mobile phone signals have more symptoms when exposed to a pulsing mobile signal than when exposed to a sham signal or a non-pulsing signal. DESIGN Double blind, randomised, within participants provocation study. SETTING Dedicated suite of offices at King's College London, between September 2003 and June 2005. PARTICIPANTS 60 "...

n engl j med 359;24 www.nejm.org december 11, 2008 2601 area of Mozambique: a double blind randomised controlled phase I/IIb trial. Lancet 2007;370:1543-51. Snow RW, Guerra CA, Mutheu JJ, Hay SI. International fund10. ing for malaria control in relation to populations at risk of stable Plasmodium falciparum transmission. PLoS Med 2008;5(7): e142. Ceesay SJ, Casals-Pascual C, Erskine J, et al. C...

OBJECTIVE The neuropeptide oxytocin is implicated in social processing, and recent research has begun to explore how gender relates to the reported effects. This study examined the effects of oxytocin on social affective perception and learning. METHODS Forty-seven male and female participants made judgments of faces during two different tasks, after being randomized to either double-blinded ...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the reliability of using the thenar eminence to determine steak doneness. DESIGN Double-blinded, cross-sectional study. SETTING Various home kitchens in Melbourne, Australia. PARTICIPANTS Amateur/home cooks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The accuracy of the finger test (the tenseness of the thenar eminence in different hand positions) for determining how well a random bee...

This work will consider the types of bias that may arise in an RCT, and how it can be subjectively analysed and minimized. Bias has been described as being prejudice or inclination for or against person/s or group/s in a manner that is considered unfair [6]. This will be explored by considering bias at different points within the RCT, namely subject bias and sampling bias. Areas that will be ex...