AIMS To conduct a service evaluation of usability and utility on-line clinical audit tools developed as part of a UK Classification of Diabetes project to improve the categorisation and ultimately management of diabetes. METHOD We conducted the evaluation in eight volunteer computerised practices all achieving maximum pay-for-performance (P4P) indicators for diabetes; two allowed direct obser...

BACKGROUND Few prospective cohort studies of workplace low back pain (LBP) with quantified job physical exposure have been performed. There are few prospective epidemiological studies for LBP occupational risk factors and reported data generally have few adjustments for many personal and psychosocial factors. METHODS/DESIGN A multi-center prospective cohort study has been incepted to quantify...

BACKGROUND Usability can influence patients' acceptance and adoption of a health information technology. However, little research has been conducted to study the usability of a self-management health care system, especially one geared toward elderly patients. OBJECTIVE This usability study evaluated a new computer-based self-management system interface for older adults with chronic diseases, ...

OBJECTIVE To assess patient, doctor, practice, and process of care variables for their effect on glycaemic control in diabetes mellitus, and to quantify their relative effects. DESIGN Search of general practice medical records, patient questionnaires and examination, doctor questionnaire, videotaping and analysis of consultations, and practice questionnaire. SETTING 12 practices with 32 par...

The objective of the study was to evaluate itchingoccasionally observed in cats and dogs shortly afteradministration of nitenpyram(Capstar; NovartisAG, Basel, Switzerland).Twelve cats and twelve dogs were caged individual-ly, infested with 100 fleas, and dosed with niten-pyram 24 hours later. Cats and dogs were dosed withtablets containing 11.4 mg and 57.0 mg nit...

Turning performance is constrained by morphology, where the flexibility of the body and the mobility and position of the control surfaces determine the level of performance. The use of paddling appendages in conjunction with the rigid bodies of aquatic arthropods could potentially limit their turning performance. Whirligig beetles (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae) are rigid-bodied, but these aquatic inse...

Our research began in the 1960s with the study of adult dialogue by Joseph Jaffe and Stanley Feldstein. Our interest was in features of speech rhythms relevant to the communication of mood, the phenomenon of empathy, and the breakdown of effective dialogue. Speech rhythms include turn-taking, pausing and interrupting. By the late 1960s, when Daniel Stern and Beatrice Beebe joined the team, our ...

Affect in Play Scale-Preschool (APS-P) is one of the few standardized tools to measure pretend play. APS-P is an effective measure of symbolic play, able to detect both cognitive and affective dimensions which classically designated play in children, but often are evaluated separately and are scarcely integrated. The scale uses 5 min standardized play task with a set of toys. Recently the scale...

Introduction: Nowadays, excessive computer use in the workplace has raised concerns about the health status of VDT workers, particularly complaints about eye discomforts. Due to the importance of the eyelids and eye closure parameters on eye health during computer works and the direct effect of monitor height on these parameters, this study was aimed to examine the effect of different monitor h...

land managers and the international community. The National Forest System encompasses a wide range of different ecosystems and much of the country’s terrestrial biodiversity. In addition to biodiversity, other ecosystem services provided by the National Forest System include water, timber, and fiber (provisioning services); recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits (cultural services); re...