Productivity analysis

This paper discusses productivity analysis, a method used in the Department of Rehabilitation Services at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston to measure the efficiency of occupational therapy services. Input and output information forms are displayed for a computerized program of productivity analysis. Input information includes time and nontime (modality) units and scheduled downtime. Output reports contain productivity analyses which allow the manager to monitor the ratio between actual hours worked by therapists and allocated hours per service. The data generated give weekly, monthly, and yearly feedback on performance by service and discipline. The objective information produced by these reports on service and department function contributes to management decisions on resource allocation and equipment requests.     

Conversation analysis

Conversation analysis (CA) is well established as a means of exploring the interactional detail of conventional healthcare encounters. It is also becoming increasingly popular in action to CAM. This article outlines the main features of CA, how it can be used in a CAM context, and the type of information it can be expected to reveal. Examples of original CA data obtained from CAM consultations are presented to illustrate the CA method.     

Controlled dispersion analysis: flow-injection analysis without injection

Flow-injection analysis is a precise, elegant, and economical technique, but its most troublesome feature is the mode of injection of the sample slug. We describe an alternative approach in which the sample is aspirated by the sample probe. In the simplest version the probe normally rests in reagent; when sampling is to take place, the pump is stopped and the probe is transferred to the sample container. The pump makes a predetermined angular movement, the probe is returned to reagent, and the pump is restarted. In more advanced versions the same approach is combined with the merging zone technique. The system is economical, precise, and capable of full automation in a multichannel discretionary analyzer.     

Survival analysis

Aims and objectives. This paper describes when and why survival analysis is used and describes the use and interpretation of the techniques most commonly encountered in medical literature. This is performed using examples taken from core medical journals. Background. Survival analysis is widely used in clinical and epidemiological research: in randomised clinical trials for comparing the efficacy of treatments and in observational (non-randomised) research to determine and test the existence of epidemiological association. Design. This paper introduces the principles, practice and terminology of survival analysis. Methods. References are made to examples from open-access medical journals. Results. Survival analysis is a well-established series of methodologies that are widely encountered in medical literature for both observational and randomised studies. Conclusions. Survival analysis represents a more efficient use of clinical data than other forms of analysis which rely on fixed time periods. One of the most widely used techniques is that developed by Kaplan and Meier. This involves the creation of life tables and the plotting of survival curves with comparison made between two or more groups. The log-rank test is commonly used to establish whether there is a statistically significant difference between these groups. The Multivariate Cox proportional hazards extend this approach to give an estimate of effect size (the Hazards Ratio) and can adjust for any potential confounding variables. In this model, the assumption of proportional hazards is of key importance and should always be checked. More advanced techniques are the use of time-dependent variables and the less widely used parametric survival techniques. Care should always be taken when considering the assumptions involved when using such methods. Relevance to clinical practice. As survival analysis is widely used in clinical research, it is important that readers can critically evaluate the use of this technique.     

步态分析

1 概述 人类的步行是一个复杂的过程,它的根本目的是从一处安全有效地转移到另一处。步行（walking）是指通过双脚的交互动作移行机体的人类特征性活动。步行需要全身肌肉的参与,包括人体重心移位,骨盆倾斜旋转,髋、膝、踝关节伸屈及内外旋展等,     

Correlational analysis

A common question of interest in nursing research is the relationships between variables. Correlational analysis is a statistical technique employed to investigate the magnitude and significance of such relationships. This paper presents commonly used techniques to examine bivariate relationships of interval/ratio, ordinal and nominal variables.     

Kinetic analysis

With the aid of positron emission tomography the concentration of radioactivity labeled ligands can be measured as a function of time in small parts of the human body in vivo. The use of short lived isotopes enables repeated studies to be performed on the same subject within reasonable time. A basic tool in the analysis of such data is a tracer kinetic model which relates the time course of the radioligand in plasma to the time course of the radioligand in the tissue. The model takes into account transport between the blood and the tissue, specific binding and release from the receptors, and non-specific binding. From a fit of the model to the measured time course of the radioligand, the receptor density, the association rate constant, and the dissociation rate constant can be determined in small volume elements of the tissue.