Barbara Johnson's Critical Difference: A Review

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rasha Saeed Badurais
Keyword(s):  
Critical Difference

Paired helical filaments (PHF) in rats: An experimental animal model for Alzheimer's disease

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 842-843
Author(s):  
V.J.A. Montpetit ◽  
S. Dancea ◽  
S.W. French ◽  
D.F. Clapin
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Animal Model ◽  
Paired Helical Filaments ◽  
Ethanol Intoxication ◽  
Drg Neurons ◽  
Critical Difference ◽  
Suitable Animal Model ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Chronic Ethanol Intoxication

A continuing problem in Alzheimer research is the lack of a suitable animal model for the disease. The absence of neurofibrillary tangles of paired helical filaments is the most critical difference in the processes by which the central nervous system ages in most species other than man. However, restricting consideration to single phenomena, one may identify animal models for specific aspects of Alzheimer's disease. Abnormal fibers resembling PHF have been observed in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons of rats in a study of chronic ethanol intoxication and spontaneously in aged rats. We present in this report evidence that PHF-like filaments occur in ethanol-treated rats of young age. In control animals lesions similar in some respects to our observations of cytoskeletal pathology in pyridoxine induced neurotoxicity were observed.Male Wistar BR rats (Charles River Labs) weighing 350 to 400 g, were implanted with a single gastrostomy cannula and infused with a liquid diet containing 30% of total calories as fat plus ethanol or isocaloric dextrose.

Conclusion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie L. Derrick
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Critical Difference ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Print History ◽  
Social Divisions ◽  
Equal Importance ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject

The emphasis of this monograph has been on the historical, cultural, religious, and social factors that shaped C. S. Lewis and his reception. Until recently those who have considered the subject have attributed his popularity to virtues of the man himself. The fact that Lewis, in effect, was an image, a mitigated commercial product, a platform, has largely been overlooked. A critical component of Lewis’s reception is the opportunities that education provided the middle classes for social mobility in the twentieth century and the social divisions and anxieties attendant upon those evolutions. Of equal importance is the timing of Lewis’s life and publications with print history and the rise of mass media and entertainment. Lewis’s platform as a contrarian Christian resisting modernity and his reactions to the intellectual, social, and religious changes of his day made the critical difference to his transatlantic receptions.

scholarly journals The role of honey in healing of bedsores in cancer patients

2012 ◽  
Vol 01 (02) ◽  
pp. 66-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aramita Saha ◽  
Subrata Chattopadhyay ◽  
Md. Azam ◽  
Prabir Kr. Sur
Keyword(s):  
Wound Healing ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Critical Difference ◽  
Visual Analogue Pain ◽  
Wound Assessment ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Bacteria And Fungi ◽  
And Control

Abstract Bacground: Honey was used to treat infected wounds as long as 2000 years before bacteria were discovered. It has been reported to have inhibitory action to around 50 species of bacteria and fungi (aspergillus, penicillium). Usually, Metronidazole powder is used in our palliative clinic for wound healing due to low cost & effectivity. Honey is cheap, easily available ingredient with high astringent activity. Objective: Objectives of the study were to find out the effectiveness of Honey in terms of rate of wound healing & pain control in bedsores of cancer patients. Materials and Methods: 40 cancer patients with bedsore wounds were randomly assigned (1:1 ratio i.e. 20 in each arm) for Study Arm (Honey plus Metronidazole powder) and Control Arm (only Metronidazole powder), attending Palliative clinic of our department in between July 2010 to September 2011. Washing of the wound with normal saline done daily before application of above medicaments. Change of posture & soft bed were encouraged in both groups. A pre designed interview proforma, standardised Bates Jensen Wound Assessment Tool and Visual Analogue Pain assessment scale were used to collect and assess data. Results: There was significant difference in wound healing status (F value = 6.523; Critical Difference =14.03, P&nit;0.05) from day 10 and pain reduction also (F value = 6.638 and Critical Difference = 1.667, P&nit;0.05) from day 7 in study arm. Conclusion: Application of honey dressing provides a better wound healing, rapid pain relief in cancer patients with bedsores in palliative settings.

The Critical Difference

diacritics ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Johnson ◽  
Roland Barthes ◽  
Richard Miller
Keyword(s):  
Critical Difference

scholarly journals Postanalytical External Quality Assessment of Urine Albumin in Primary Health Care: An International Survey

2008 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 1630-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin M Aakre ◽  
Geir Thue ◽  
Sumathi Subramaniam-Haavik ◽  
Tone Bukve ◽  
Howard Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diabetes Patient ◽  
Critical Difference ◽  
Albumin Creatinine Ratio ◽  
Spot Urine ◽  
Urine Albumin ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Analytical Imprecision ◽  
Measurement Units ◽  
First Time

Abstract background: Microalbuminuria (MA) is recognized as an important risk factor for cardiovascular and renal complications in diabetes. We sought to evaluate how screening for MA is conducted and how urine albumin (UA) results are interpreted in primary care internationally. methods: General practitioners (GPs) received a case history–based questionnaire depicting a male type 2 diabetes patient in whom UA testing had not been performed. Questions were related to type of urine sample used for UA testing, need for a repeat test, whether UA testing was performed in the office laboratory, and what changes in UA results were considered clinically important [critical difference (CD)]. Participants received national benchmarking feedback reports. results: We included 2078 GPs from 9 European countries. Spot urine samples were used most commonly for first time office-based testing, whereas timed collections were used to a larger extent for hospital-based repeat tests. Repeat tests were requested by 45%–77% of GPs if the first test was positive. Four different measurement units were used by 70% of participants in estimating clinically important changes in albumin values. Stated CDs varied considerably among GPs, with similar variations in each country. A median CD of 33% was considered clinically important for both improvement and deterioration in MA, corresponding to an achievable analytical imprecision of 14%, when UA is reported as an albumin/creatinine ratio. conclusions: Guidelines on diagnosing MA are followed only partially, and should be made more practicable, addressing issues such as type of samples, measurement units, and repeat tests.

Thematic object pairs produce stronger and faster perceptual grouping than taxonomic pairs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Nah ◽  
Joy Geng
Keyword(s):  
Visual Processing ◽  
Perceptual Grouping ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Perceptual Unit ◽  
Critical Difference ◽  
Common Event ◽  
Taxonomic Relationships ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Fundamental Units

While objects are fundamental units of vision that convey meaning, how different types of semantic knowledge affect perception is not fully understood. In contrast, the concept literature divides semantic information into taxonomic and thematic types. Taxonomic relationships reflect categorization by similarities (e.g., dog – wolf); thematic groups are based on complementary relationships shared within a common event (e.g., swimsuit – goggles; pool). A critical difference between these two information types is that thematic relationships are learned from the experienced co-occurrence of objects whereas taxonomic relationships are learned abstractly. In two studies, we test the hypothesis that visual processing of thematically related objects is more rapid because they serve as mutual visual primes and form a perceptual unit. The results demonstrate that learned co-occurrence not only shapes semantic knowledge, but also affects low level visual processing, revealing a link between how information is acquired (e.g., experienced vs. unobserved) and how it modulates perception.

scholarly journals When to collect blood specimens: midmorning vs fasting samples

1998 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 2537-2542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esa Leppänen ◽  
Benoit Dugué
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Volunteers ◽  
Coefficient Of Variation ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Clinical Decisions ◽  
Objective Data ◽  
Critical Difference ◽  
Blood Specimens ◽  
Medical Specialities

Abstract This study was carried out to define the consequences of collecting blood specimens during the forenoon instead of using fasting specimens collected early in the morning. Extensive laboratory data were obtained from specimens collected from fasting participants at 0800, after breakfast at 0930, and again at 1100. The subjects were inpatients in medical and surgical wards (n = 51; 13 women and 38 men; ages, 32–87 years) and subjectively healthy volunteers corresponding to outpatients (n = 51; 31 women and 20 men; ages, 18–63 years). The coefficient of variation (CV, %) of the patient results was compared with the analytical CV. The observed CVs of the subjects’ results far exceeded the analytical CV (%), the average being 3.5-fold and up to 14-fold for some analytes. In individual results the observed change often exceeded the medically derived clinical critical difference. Laboratory data should always be interpreted in the context in which they were obtained. Clinical decisions should be based on objective data (observations) more than on experience and educated guesses. Different medical specialities and different clinical situations may require different kinds of procedures.

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