Yes / Partial weight bearing protocols are commonly incorporated into rehabilitation to enhance recovery. Patients are often prescribed protocols that refer to a percentage of their body weight, such as 20% weight bearing, that should be placed through the healing limb during activities such as walking (gait). In order to achieve these partial weight baring protocols patients are usually provided with walking aids such as crutches. Accurate reproducibility of and compliance with these protocols could be considered essential to the rehabilitation process, however poor reproducibility of partial weight bearing protocols during crutch assisted gait using a current method of instruction has been shown. Aims: The aim of this study was to determine whether a more dynamic method of partial weight bearing protocol instruction, was more accurately reproduced. Methods: In total, 16 participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups and were taught 20% partial weight bearing using two different methods of instruction. A participant’s ability to reproduce their target load using crutch assisted gait was assessed using a force plate. Findings: The mean error for the static method of instruction was significantly greater than the more dynamic method. Conclusion: As seen previously, the static method of instruction of partial weight bearing protocols, using bathroom scales, does not seem to translate accurately to dynamic motion; however, the more dynamic method assessed in this study appears to result in more accurate reproducibility.

Yes / There is no single, universally accepted method of measuring isometric neck strength to inform exercise prescription and injury risk prediction. This study aimed to establish the inter- and intra-rater reliability of a commercially available fixed frame dynamometer in measuring peak isometric neck strength. A convenience sample of male (n = 16) and female (n = 20) university students performed maximal isometric contractions for flexion (Flex), extension (Ext), left- (LSF) and right-side flexion (RSF) in a quadruped position over three sessions. The intra-rater reliability results were good-to-excellent for both males (ICC = 0.83–0.90) and females (ICC = 0.86–0.94) and acceptable (CV < 15%) across all directions for both males and females. The inter-rater reliability results were excellent (ICC = 0.96–0.97) and acceptable (CV < 11.1%) across all directions. Findings demonstrated a significant effect for sex (p ≤ 0.05): males were stronger in all four directions, and a significant effect for direction (p ≤ 0.05): Ext tested stronger (193 N) than Flex (176 N), LSF (130 N) and RSF (125 N). The findings show that the VALD fixed frame dynamometer can reliably assess isometric neck strength and can provides reference values for healthy males and females.

Abstract Introduction In order to evaluate aerobic, power and strength abilities coaches typically has performed all the physical tests at the same testing session. Today there is a lack of instruments tested for reliability in that kind of setting. Aim The purpose of this study was to investigate intra-session reliability for countermovement jump (CMJ) and Isometric Midthigh Pull (IMTP) after a fatiguing cycle-ergometer VO2-maxtest. Method: A quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study design where 25 Swedish elite athletes, 11 women (age 26.9 ± 8.3 year, weight 63.3 ± 7.4 kg, length 169.8 ± 7.4 cm and BMI 21.9 ± 1.4) and 14 men (age 23.4 ± 2.9 year, weight 77.9 ± 12.4 kg, length 179.0 ± 8.3 cm and BMI 24.2 ± 2.0), from different sports were recruited through a stratified comfort selection from the initial survey study within the project: Relative Energy Deficit in Swedish Athletes (the REI-project). The study-participants performed physical testing in one test session, the test-protocol consisted of a incremental VO2-max cycle-ergometer test to fatigue followed by 3 attempts CMJ and 3 attempts IMTP. Results The relative reliability was excellent for both CMJ and IMTP (Intraclass correlation (ICC) 0,948 and 0,983 respectively), not surprisingly due to the heterogeneous population.  The absolute reliability was excellent as well (percentage of typical Error (TE%) 5,84 and 4,02, percentage of coefficient of variation (CV%) 6,81 and 7,63 respectively). Conclusion The CMJ and IMTP are intra-session reliable in measuring jump hight and isometric strength in a state of fatigue. / Abstrakt Introduktion I syfte att utvärdera såväl aerob kapacitet, spänst och styrka utför tränare ofta dessa fysiska tester vid ett och samma testtillfälle. Idag saknas det testinstrument som reliabilitetstestats i en sådan kontext.Syfte Avsikten med denna studie var att undersöka intra-session reliabiliteten i Countermovement Jump (CMJ) och Isometriskt Mid Thigh Pull (IMTP) utförda efter ett utmattande cykelergometertest för VO2-max. Metod En kvantitativ, deskriptiv, tvärsnittsstudie valdes där 25 svenska elitidrottare, 11 kvinnor (ålder 26.9 ± 8.3 år, vikt 63.3 ± 7.4 kg, längd 169.8 ± 7.4 cm and BMI 21.9 ± 1.4) och 14 män (ålder 23.4 ± 2.9 år, vikt 77.9 ± 12.4 kg, längd 179.0 ± 8.3 cm and BMI 24.2 ± 2.0), inom olika idrotter rekryterades genom ett stratifierat bekvämlighetsurval från projektet Relativ energibrist i svensk idrott (REI-projektet) initiala enkätstudie. Forskningspersonerna utförde fysiska tester vid ett tillfälle, testprotokollet bestod av ett stegrat VO2-max cykelergometertest till utmattning följt av 3 maximala försök CMJ och 3 maximala försök IMTP. Resultat Relativ reliabilitet visades utmärkt för både CMJ och IMTP (intraclass correlation (ICC) 0,948 respektive 0,983), vilket inte var förvånande med tanke på den heterogena populationen. Absolut reliabilitet visades även den vara utmärkt (typfel uttryckt i procent (TE%) 5,84 respektive 4,02 och variationskoefficient uttryckt i procent (CV%) 6,81 respektive 7,63). Slutsats CMJ och IMTP är reliabla testinstrument, intra-session, för mätning av hopphöjd och isometrisk styrka i ett utmattat tillstånd. / Projekt: Relativ energibrist i svensk idrott (REI-projektet)

Objective The purposes of the study were: (1) To evaluate the intrasession test-retest reliability of pure-tone thresholds measured in the 0.5–16 kHz frequency range for a group of otologically healthy subjects using Sennheiser HDA 200 circumaural and Etymotic Research ER-2 insert earphones and (2) to compare the data with existing criteria of significant threshold shifts related to ototoxicity and noise-induced hearing loss. Design Auditory thresholds in the frequency range from 0.5 to 6 kHz and in the extended high-frequency range from 8 to 16 kHz were measured in one ear of 138 otologically healthy subjects (77 women, 61 men; mean age, 24.4 yr; range, 12–51 yr) using HDA 200 and ER-2 earphones. For each subject, measurements of thresholds were obtained twice for both transducers during the same test session. For analysis, the extended high-frequency range from 8 to 16 kHz was subdivided into 8 to 12.5 and 14 to 16 kHz ranges. Data for each frequency and frequency range were analyzed separately. Results There were no significant differences in repeatability for the two transducer types for all frequency ranges. The intrasession variability increased slightly, but significantly, as frequency increased with the greatest amount of variability in the 14 to 16 kHz range. Analyzing each individual frequency, variability was increased particularly at 16 kHz. At each individual frequency and for both transducer types, intrasession test-retest repeatability from 0.5 to 6 kHz and 8 to 16 kHz was within 10 dB for >99% and >94% of measurements, respectively. The results indicated a false-positive rate of Conclusion Repeatability was similar for both transducer types. Intrasession test-retest repeatability from 0.5 to 12.5 kHz at each individual frequency including the frequency range susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss was excellent for both transducers. Repeatability was slightly, but significantly poorer in the frequency range from 14 to 16 kHz compared with the frequency ranges from 0.5 to 6 or 8 to 12.5 kHz. Measurements in the extended high-frequency range from 8 to 14 kHz, but not up to 16 kHz, may be recommended for monitoring purposes.

The purpose of this study was to determine the test-retest reliability of digitally recorded word recognition materials. Word recognition testing is included in a complete audiological evaluation to measure an individual's ability to discriminate what they hear. A phonetically balanced list of 50 monosyllabic words was presented to each participant at four different sensation levels (SL) using the American Speech Language Hearing Association recommended protocol for word recognition score testing. Each participant took a 10 minute break before the test was readministered. Participants included 40 subjects with varying levels of hearing loss, from normal hearing to severe hearing loss. The test and retest scores of all participants were analyzed to estimate the test-retest reliability to be .65 at 10 dB SL, .87 at 20 dB SL, .88 at 30 dB SL, and .95 at 40 dB SL. It was concluded that the word lists have strong test-retest reliability at 20, 30, and 40 dB SL and that the reliability increases as the presentation level increases.

Despite the growing popularity and utilization of Curriculum-Based Measurement for assessing students’ academic skills and for progress monitoring, little attention has been devoted to the area of written expression. Very few studies have been conducted to assess test-retest reliability. Only three previous studies were identified that examined the test-retest reliability of written expression curriculum-based measures. To address this issue, the current study examined the test-retest reliability of five common scoring procedures with students in grades 2, 4, and 6. A one-week time interval was used. Results indicated that while test-retest correlations were statistically significant and often at a moderate to moderately strong level, three of the measures showed statistically significant mean differences between the two test administrations in grade 6. The implications of these results are discussed.

Tympanometry and acoustic stapedial reflex (ASR) are routinely used in audiology clinics to assess the functional integrity of the eardrum and middle ear system in humans. Conventional tympanometry (which delivers a probe tone of 226 Hz into the ear canal and measures the mobility of the eardrum as the air pressure in the ear canal is varied) and acoustic reflex testing are effective in detecting middle ear pathologies in children and adults. However, the clinical application of these two tests to infants younger than 7 months has major limitations. In recent years, high frequency tympanometry (HFT) with a probe tone of 1000 Hz has been trialled successfully in young infants (< 7 months) and research on ASRs as they apply to this age group is continuing. Although preliminary HFT data for this population are emerging, there has been no detailed study that describes the effect of age on HFT and ASR results, no clear guideline on ways to interpret the HFT results, and no investigation to measure the feasibility and reliability of the ASR findings. For these reasons, systematic investigation into the use of HFT and ASR measures for evaluating the middle ear function of young infants is warranted. This thesis aimed to: (i) investigate the feasibility of obtaining HFT and ASR findings from newborn and 6-week-old infants, and study the characteristics of the immittance findings in these two age groups; (ii) investigate methods within HFT to measure the middle ear admittance of newborn babies; (iii) establish normative HFT data from healthy newborn babies using the new component compensation method; (iv) examine the test-retest reliability of the ASR test in healthy neonates; and (v) investigate the test-retest reliability of the ASR test in 6-week-old infants. The aims of the thesis were met through five studies. In study one (Chapter 2), a pilot study was conducted to examine the feasibility of performing HFT and ASR in 42 healthy infants and study the characteristics of the immittance findings obtained from these infants using a longitudinal study design. In this pilot study, all infants were tested at birth and then re-tested approximately 6 weeks after the first test. This study confirmed the feasibility of obtaining valid immittance findings from healthy young infants. Most importantly, the findings of this pilot study revealed that the mean values of the majority of HFT parameters and acoustic stapedial reflex threshold (ASRT) obtained at 6 weeks were significantly greater than those obtained at birth, indicating the need to have separate sets of normative data for both tests for newborn and 6-week-old infants. In study 2 (Chapter 3), three different methods to measure middle ear admittance (often described as peak compensated static admittance) in 36 healthy neonates were compared. The three methods were the traditional baseline compensation method (compensated for the susceptance component at 200 daPa pressure) and two new component compensated methods (compensated for both the susceptance and conductance components at 200 daPa and -400 daPa). The results showed that the mean middle ear admittances obtained by compensating for the two components of admittance at a pressure of 200 daPa (YCC200) and -400 daPa (YCC-400) were significantly greater than that using the traditional baseline compensation method (YBC). The higher mean admittance results obtained using the new component compensated methods suggests that the two new methods have the potential to better separate normal from abnormal admittance results. The test-retest reliability of YBC, YCC200 and YCC-400 was investigated, with the result that a lower test-retest reliability was obtained for YCC-400 than for the other two measures. It was, therefore, concluded that the component compensation method compensated at 200 daPa may serve as an alternative method for estimating middle ear admittance, especially in the context of assessing neonates using HFT. In study 3 (Chapter 4), normative data were gathered using the new component compensation method (compensated at 200 daPa) on a group of 157 healthy newborn babies. In addition to the component compensated static admittance (YCC), normative data showing the 90 % ranges for tympanometric peak pressure, admittance at 200 daPa, uncompensated peak admittance, and traditional baseline compensated static admittance (YBC) were established in this study. No gender effect was found on any of the tympanometric measures. In study 4 (Chapter 5), the use of ASR to evaluate middle ear function in neonates was studied. The feasibility of obtaining ipsilateral ASR from neonates by stimulating their ears with a 2 kHz tone and broadband noise (BBN) was demonstrated. ASRs were elicited from 91.3% of 219 full-term normal neonates, while the remaining 8.7% of neonates who had flat tympanograms and no transient evoked otoacoustic emissions did not exhibit ASRs. Good test-retest reliability was demonstrated in the ASRT obtained using both the 2 kHz and BBN stimulus; there was no significant difference between test and retest conditions and intra-correlation coefficients of 0.83 for the 2 kHz tone and 0.76 for the BBN stimulus. In the last study (Chapter 6), the test-retest reliability of ASRT obtained from 70 6-week-old infants was investigated. The methodology described in Chapter 5 was followed. No significant difference in ASRT between test and retest conditions was found for the 2 kHz tone (mean ASRT = 67.3 dB HL versus 67.1 dB HL) and BBN stimulus (mean ASRT = 80.9 dB HL versus 81.6 dB HL). Good test-retest reliability of ASRT with intra-correlation coefficients of 0.78 was found for both the 2 kHz tone and the BBN stimulus. In essence, through achieving the aforementioned aims, the current research program was able to enhance the minimal literature available concerning the use of HFT and ASR testing in young infants. Ultimately, the findings presented in this thesis will inform clinicians of the recent developments in HFT and ASR testing, and assist them in evaluating the middle ear function of young infants with accuracy and confidence.

Background: Impaired proprioception has been reported in patients with neck pain. The most common way to assess proprioception is the testing of joint position sense. Researchers usually uses advanced technical equipment. Laser pointer tests have been described for testing global joint position sense against two-dimensional targets, which can also be used clinically. One-dimensional targets can provide accurate information about deviations in the current motion plane and allow easy calculation of a number of additional output variables. Objectives: Evaluate test-retest reliability of a new clinical test using laser pointer and a one-dimensional target for assessment of cervical joint position sense. Design: Cross-sectional test-retest reliability study. Method:The study included 56 individuals, 30 healthy controls and 26 with neck pain were tested at two occasions 6-8 days apart. Calculation of the reliability was done by analysing relative, ICC, and absolute, SEM, reliability. Results: The results were relatively scattered but showed an overall moderatereliability with an ICC between 0,51-0,73, but in some cases a poor reliability under 0,5 except for two measures that showed good reliability over 0,77.The SEM for total group were between 0,72°-2,87°, indicating a relatively high level.  Conclusions: Current research demonstrates an overall moderate reliability testing JPS with a laser pointer and a one-dimensional target.

Submitted by Maike Costa (maiksebas@gmail.com) on 2017-03-16T12:50:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1944500 bytes, checksum: 05e8286b4b498ec1583d5bd8886221ef (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-16T12:50:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1944500 bytes, checksum: 05e8286b4b498ec1583d5bd8886221ef (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-10-29 / The use of questionnaires in epidemiological studies has allowed a broader knowledge of the adverse oral conditions that affect the quality of life. This way, may be important ally to development of public health politics and strategies of prevention and treatment. Thus, the objective of this paper was to evaluate the reproducibility of oral health-related quality of life, SOHO-5 (Scale Oral Health Outcomes for Five-Year-Old Children – children version) for 5-years-old children and OHIP- 14 (Oral Health Impact Profile) for 12 years school applied to public school students of a small city of Paraiba outback. To this end, an only examiner (intra-examiner kappa = 0.82) had a census of all children available, totaling 59 students with 05 years and 39 to 12 years who underwent a clinical examination based on World Health Organization criteria to dental cavity (DMFT) and application of a quality of life questionnaire related to oral health. After the thirty-day period, this process was repeated reproduction of the same application conditions. As the results, it was found that the variables of the SOHO-5: “difficulty playing” (kappa=-0,042); “difficulty eating” (kappa=0,112); “difficulty drinking” (kappa=0,028) and “difficulty sleeping” (kappa=0,184) showed more vulnerable in the two moments assessment questionnaire. The OHIP-14 showed regular agreement for the item: "he was worried because of problems with their teeth/her mouth" (kappa=0,256), and moderate agreement for "problem to speak a word" (kappa = 0.505), "pain in your mouth and teeth" (kappa = 0.408), "for your meals" (kappa = 0.437) and "felt ashamed" (kappa = 0.402). There was no correlation between the response pattern of children under 5 years in both the questionnaire application moments for all items and agreement to regulate moderate between the responses of children under 12. However, although of changing the standard of responses, the OHIP-14 showed better reproducibility than the SOHO-5. / O uso de questionários em estudos epidemiológicos tem permitido um conhecimento mais amplo sobre as condições bucais adversas que afetam a qualidade de vida. Dessa forma, podem ser importantes aliados para o desenvolvimento de políticas de saúde pública e estratégias de prevenção e tratamento. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a reprodutibilidade de questionários de qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal, o SOHO-5 (Scale Oral Health Outcomes for Five-Year-Old Children– versão da criança) para as crianças de 05 anos e OHIP-14 (Oral Health Impact Profile) para os escolares de 12 anos aplicados a escolares da rede pública de um município de pequeno porte do sertão paraibano. Para tanto, um único examinador (kappa intraexaminador=0,82) contou com o censo de todas as crianças disponíveis, totalizando 59 escolares com 05 anos e 39 com 12 anos que foram submetidos a um exame clínico com base nos critérios da Organização Mundial de Saúde para cárie dentária (CPO-D e ceo-d) e aplicação de um questionário de qualidade de vida relacionada à saúde bucal. Após o período de trinta dias, esse processo foi repetido com reprodução das mesmas condições de aplicação. Como resultados, verificou-se que as variáveis do SOHO-5: “dificuldade de brincar” (Kappa=-0,042); “dificuldade de comer” (Kappa=0,112), “dificuldade de beber” (Kappa=0,028) e “dificuldade para dormir” (Kappa=0,184) mostraram-se mais vulneráveis nos dois momentos avaliação do questionário. O OHIP-14 mostrou concordância regular para o item: “ficou preocupado por causa de problemas nos seus dentes/sua boca” (Kappa=0,256) e concordância moderada para “problema para falar alguma palavra” (kappa= 0,505), “dores em sua boca ou dentes” (kappa = 0,408), “parar suas refeições” (Kappa= 0,437) e “sentiu-se envergonhado” (kappa= 0,402). Dessa forma, não houve concordância entre o padrão de resposta das crianças de 5 anos nos dois momentos de aplicação do questionário para todos os itens e concordância de regular a moderada entre as respostas das crianças de 12 anos. Contudo, apesar de alterar o padrão de respostas, o OHIP-14 apresentou melhor reprodutibilidade que o SOHO-5.

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