background symptoms of gastro-esophageal reflux disease (gerd) affect health-related quality of life (hrqol). when a questionnaire is translated into a new language, linguistic validation is necessary, yet insufficient, unless the psychometric characteristics have been verified. the aim of this study is to document the translation and psychometric validation of the persian translation of the qu...

Measurement or estimation of leaf area is essential for understanding crop responses to experimental treatments. The objective of this study was to develop regression models for estimating leaf area of field-grown cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) from measurements of leaf dry weight (LDW), vegetative components (stems and leaves) dry weight (VDW) and plant height (PH). Three cotton cultivars (Del...

Precise quantification of plant nitrogen (N) nutrition status is essential for crop N management. The concept of critical N concentration (Nc) has been widely used for assessment of plant N status. This study aimed to develop a new winter wheat Nc dilution curve based on leaf area duration (LAD). Four field experiments were performed on different cultivars with different N fertilization modes i...

Stochastic discrete event simulation methodology is becoming increasingly popular among network researchers around the world in recent years. This is partly because of the availability of various sophisticated and powerful simulation software packages, but also because of the flexibility in model construction and validation. This paper describes our experience in using the ns-2 network simulato...

BACKGROUND In present-day life-insurance medical underwriting practice the risk assessment starts with a standard health declaration (SHD). Indication for additional medical screening depends predominantly on age and amount of insured capital. From a medical perspective it is questionable whether there is an association between the level of insured capital and medical risk in terms of mortality...

The primary objective of this research was the development and deployment of autonomous shipboard systems for infrared measurement of ocean surface skin temperature (SST). The focus was on demonstrating long-term, all-weather capability and supplying calibrated skin SST to the MODIS Ocean Science Team (MOCEAN). A secondary objective was to investigate and account for environmental factors that ...

OBJECTIVE The Finnegan scoring list (FSL) is widely used to screen for poor neonatal adaptation in infants exposed to anti-depressants in utero. However, the large number of FSL-items and differential weighing of each item is time consuming. The aim of this study was to shorten and simplify the FSL yet preserving its clinimetric properties. METHODS This observational study examined infants ex...

BACKGROUND External validation on different TBI populations is important in order to assess the generalizability of prognostic models to different settings. We aimed to externally validate recently developed models for prediction of six month unfavourable outcome and six month mortality. METHODS The International Neurotrauma Research Organization - Prehospital dataset (INRO-PH) was collected ...

The potential impact of the effects of lead in children is a major concern. Although measurements of lead concentration can be made in a geographic area, it is difficult to predict the effects of this exposure that involve complicated biologic functions. Dynamic mathematical models that can be simulated on a digital computer provide one method of analysis to facilitate the prediction process. T...

BACKGROUND Early identification of patients who need post-acute care (PAC) may improve discharge planning. The purposes of the study were to develop and validate a score predicting discharge to a post-acute care (PAC) facility and to determine its best assessment time. METHODS We conducted a prospective study including 349 (derivation cohort) and 161 (validation cohort) consecutive patients i...