Likelihood‐based dynamic factor analysis for measurement and forecasting

We present new results for the likelihood‐based analysis of the dynamic factor model. The latent factors are modelled by linear dynamic stochastic processes. The idiosyncratic disturbance series are specified as autoregressive processes with mutually correlated innovations. The new results lead to computationally efficient procedures for the estimation of the factors and for the parameter estimation by maximum likelihood methods. We also present the implications of our results for models with regression effects, for Bayesian analysis, for signal extraction, and for forecasting. An empirical illustration is provided for the analysis of a large panel of macroeconomic time series.     

云南省昭通市巧家县地震后患者心理状态及心理恢复

目的:研究云南省昭通市巧家县地震后患者心理状态及心理恢复。方法:2014年8月23日到9月11日笔者和同事对巧家县共计258例就诊者进行前瞻性观察性研究,国际疾病伤害及死因分类标准第十版(ICD-10)分析抑郁、恐惧和品行障碍情况。结果:重伤和轻伤各个时间段之间心理状态差距具有统计学意义(χ2=12.522,P=0.000)。轻伤者心理状态较重伤者普遍好,恢复也快。两组入院和出院的品行障碍在组间和组内之间均无统计学差异(P0.05)。两组入院抑郁发作和广泛焦虑均无统计学差异(P0.05)。出院时重伤组与轻伤组相比具有统计学差异(t=3.243,P0.05)。重伤组和轻伤组入院和出院时相比具有统计学差异(t=4.531,P0.05)。结论:巧家县地震后重症和轻症患者心理状态均恢复良好,出院时比入院时心理恢复好。患者能很快恢复正常生活,以美好的心态迎接未来的人生。     

Habitual excessive dietary salt intake and blood pressure levels in renal transplant recipients

We observed that renal transplant recipients with good graft function (mean serum creatinine level 1.5 mg/dl ± 0.5 SD, N = 68) had dietary salt intakes (estimated from serial measurements of 24-hour sodium excretion rate) which averaged 43 percent higher than that of a comparable group of healthy subjects. There was no correlation between blood pressure levels and salt intake and, despite the high dietary salt intake, hypertension was present in only 29 patients and was usually mild; mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures were 132 ± 10 mm Hg and 89 ± 7 mm Hg, respectively white the patients were receiving ant (hypertensive medication (median number of standard doses of antihypertensive medication was 1.0 doses/ patient per day). These observations suggest that high dietary salt intake does not exert a powerful blood pressure elevating effect, since any effect of high dietary salt intake to raise blood pressure should have been magnified In the renal transplant recipients because of their reduced renal mass and their chronic glucocorticoid therapy.     

Experiences of Urban African Americans with Cancer Pain

The experience of cancer pain is poorly understood from the perspective of African Americans, who experience higher levels of pain, more pain-related distress, and poorer function than Caucasians. Decreased perceived control over pain may play a greater role for African American patients, affecting pain-related distress and function. The purpose of this study was to add to the understanding of cancer pain and perceived control over pain in African Americans, from the patients’ perspective. This qualitative inquiry was part of a larger mixed-methods study testing an intervention to improve pain, pain-related distress, and functional status through increasing perceived control over pain. Participants were recruited from the waiting room of an urban comprehensive cancer and interviewed in their homes. Interviews with 18 adult cancer patients who self-identified as African American and reported experiencing moderate to severe pain (>4 on a 0–10 scale) within the past two weeks were included. Qualitative interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using a constant comparative method. Two major themes emerged from this qualitative inquiry: struggles of the chronic pain experience and benefits of perceived control over pain. Each theme contained several categories. The study unveiled the participants account of both struggles of the chronic pain experience and barriers of perceived control that can be assessed for and targeted in nursing intervention. Benefits to having perceived control over pain were also illustrated in the participants’ narratives.     

Feasibility and Preliminary Validation of an Online Version of the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method

Objective

To test the feasibility and validity of an online version of an established interview designed to determine a lifetime history of traumatic brain injury (TBI).