This study explores the construct validity of speaking tasks included in the TOEFL iBT (e.g., integrated and independent speaking tasks). Specifically, advanced natural language processing (NLP) tools, MANOVA difference statistics, and discriminant function analyses (DFA) are used to assess the degree to which and in what ways responses to these tasks differ with regard to linguistic characteri...

We studied the diagnostic accuracy of a rapid immunochromatographic test (ICT) for detection of IgM against scrub typhus (ST ICT) and an immunoblot test for the detection of IgM against murine typhus (MT IBT) by using admission serum samples from 1,030 febrile patients in Laos. Sensitivity and specificity for the ST ICT determined by using the diagnostic criteria of a four-fold increase in IgM ...

Having implemented discrete stationary wavelet transform (DSWT) to an image, combining generalized cross validation (GCV), noise is reduced directly in the high frequency sub-bands which are at the better resolution levels and local contrast is enhanced by combining de-noising method with in-complete Beta transform (IBT) in the high frequency sub-bands which are at the worse resolution levels. ...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have rarely been studied because they rarely accept interferon-based therapy (IBT) and have been difficult to follow up. We investigated long-term outcomes of IBT on the population. METHODS This population-based cohort study used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database as its data source. HCV...

Applicants must often demonstrate adequate English proficiency when applying to postsecondary institutions by taking an language test, such as the TOEFL iBT, IELTS Academic, or Duolingo Test (DET). Concordance tables aim provide equivalent scores across multiple assessments, helping admissions officers make fair decisions regardless of test that applicant took. We present our approaches address...

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to analyze the results of exclusive interstitial brachytherapy (IBT) as a conservative approach in the treatment of penile cancer confined to the glans or the shaft with long-term follow-up in a single institution. MATERIALS/METHODS Between July 1992 and November 2013, 73 consecutive patients with non-metastatic invasive penile cancer were treated b...