Evaluation of the ThinPrep Pap test as an adjunct to the conventional Pap smear

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ThinPrep Pap test as an adjunct to the conventional Pap smear. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospectively collected cervical samples were split for independent screening at a large specialised private gynaecological pathology practice in Sydney. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Detection of additional significant abnormalities (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 1, or more severe); changed management recommendations from "repeat smear in 12 months" or "...six months" to "colposcopy", a reduction in unsatisfactory reports. RESULTS: 35,560 paired (split-sample) conventional and ThinPrep slides were prepared. Significant abnormalities were detected in 724 conventional smears (2%). Additional significant abnormalities were found in 85 ThinPrep slides whose corresponding conventional smear was negative or unsatisfactory even after review, representing a 12% increase in the detection of significant abnormalities. As a result of the addition of ThinPrep, management recommendations were changed from "repeat smear in 12 months" or "...six months" to "colposcopy" for 89 of 1669 women whose conventional Pap smears showed minor non-specific changes or papillomavirus. There were 1258 conventional smears (3.5%) that were unsatisfactory compared with 235 ThinPrep slides (0.7%); for only 74 samples (0.2%) were both slides unsatisfactory. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of the ThinPrep Pap test improves detection and clinical management of cervical abnormalities, and reduces the number of unsatisfactory samples which would otherwise require repeat tests.     

A short form of Witkin's embedded-figures test.

A short form of Witkin's Embedded-figures Test is presented as a good alterative to the longer form which sometimes may require more than an hour and a half for its administration. The short form correlates .99 with the entire scale, based upon a sample of 50 college students. "It thus appears that the 12-item short form with a 3-minute limit gives a very good approximation of results obtained from the entire Witkin embedded-figures test while requiring only half as much administration time." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

APA's guidelines for test user qualifications: An executive summary.

At the direction of the Council of Representatives of the American Psychological Association (APA), the Task Force on Test User Qualifications was established in October 1996 to develop guidelines that inform test users and the general public of the qualifications that the APA considers important for the competent and responsible use of psychological tests. The TFTUQ reviewed the relevant literature related to test user qualifications, as well as policy statements developed by the APA and other groups both national and international. The task force then developed a set of comprehensive guidelines and solicited comments from both within and outside the APA. The final report of the TFTUQ was approved by the APA Council of Representatives in August 2000. This article provides a brief summary of the Guidelines on Test User Qualifications (APA, 2000) that are now APA policy. The APA's purpose in developing these guidelines is to inform test users as well as individuals involved with training programs, regulatory and credentialling bodies, and the public about the qualifications that promote high professional standards in the use of tests with the public. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sociodemographic factors of Pap smear screening in Taiwan

We report the differences between using either EDTA plasma or serum in a turbidimetric assay for quantitation of C-reactive protein (CRP). A systematic discrepancy was found for these two sample materials. This was most pronounced in the low concentration range (below 20 mg1(-1)) at which lower values were found in serum than in EDTA plasma. Conversely, in the high concentration range, serum showed slightly higher values. Addition of K3-EDTA to the reaction buffer improved the kinetics for sera with low concentrations of CRP, thus increasing the sensitivity of the assay. We found an overall constant discrepancy of approximately 8% lower values in plasma than in serum (equally for low and high levels of CRP) after the addition of K3-EDTA. The most probable explanation for this effect seems to be the differing water content of serum and EDTA plasma. We discuss the role and function of EDTA in the CRP assay and suggest some hypothetical mechanisms.     

Thirty-three years of test research: a short history of test development in the U.S. Civil Service Commission.

"In the United States civil service, competitive examining was not permanently installed until 1883." Among the psychologists associated with the Civil Service Commission during its development were R. M. Yerkes, John B. Watson, L. J. O'Rourke, and L. L. Thurstone. Various divisions concerned with the work of psychologists and their particular functions are discussed. Accomplishments, continuing work, and plans relating to phases of psychology in the civil service are considered. "Constant review of progress in all major areas of human measurement is being made in order to determine the feasibility of extending any meaningful approaches to the needs of the Civil Service Commission." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

大型降膜结晶器结构设计

通过对大型降膜结晶器所选材料蒙乃尔400材料的分析,以及结合国内对结晶器的结构设计分析比较,确定了降膜结晶器材料,结构形式及相关设计。     

Repeat Pap smear at the time of initial colposcopy--another view

This brief note is designed to provide research teams that are involved with the publication of clinical trials in peer-reviewed medical journals with a reference for the rebuttal of referees' criticism that your results are in some way inferior overall to those of others. In these reviewers' eyes, a trial that shows less benefit than other trials has no public health benefit, and hence they recommend rejection. In fact, such policies lead to publication bias, the systematic overestimation of benefits of therapy in the published literature.     

Use of the Thin Prep Pap Test in clinical practice

The Thin Prep Pap Test (Cytyc Corp., Boxborough, MA) received approval by the Food and Drug Administration in May 1996 as an alternative to the traditional conventional smear. The present direct-to-vial study assessed the utility of thin-layer technology for cervicovaginal screening in clinical practice. From May 1997-February 1998 (10 mo), 15,006 cervical smears were processed and evaluated; of these, 5,423 (36.1%) were conventional smears (CS) and 9,583 (63.9%) were Thin Prep slides (TP). Both methods were analyzed to compare specimen adequacy and detection rates of cervical lesions. The TP method reduced the "satisfactory but limited by" rate by 97% and the unsatisfactory rate by 63%. For low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSILs), TP slides yielded 3.6% (348/9,583) as compared to 0.98% (53/5,423) for CS, an increase of 267%. The TP method detected a threefold increase in the number of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSILs) of 1.0% (100/9,583), as compared to 0.3% (17/5,425) for the CS group. The atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance/squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASCUS SIL) ratio was reduced by 54% in the TP group. In routine usage in our laboratory, the Thin Prep Pap Test yielded a significant increase in the detection of LSILs and HSILs as compared to conventional smears. Specimen adequacy was significantly improved.     

Trends in mammography and Pap smear utilization in Canada

We have examined trends in the utilization of two preventive health procedures for women in Canada based on our analysis of the 1994 National Population Health Survey (NPHS) and comparisons with two previous large population health surveys. The NPHS provides evidence that Canadian women's use of mammography has continued to increase between 1990 and 1994, while use of Pap smears has remained steady. Increases in mammographic utilization are seen for all age groups and in all provinces of Canada. Women who are less than the recommended age of 50-69 years for screening mammography access these services in considerable numbers. Large proportions of women aged 18-24 and 65 or over have never had a Pap smear, and recency of Pap smear is associated with age. Income adequacy and educational attainment are still strong predictors of which women utilize Pap smears and mammograms. We conclude that the NPHS is sufficiently broad-based to be used in a surveillance program to track Pap smear and mammography utilization.     

Screening trauma patients for alcoholism according to NIAAA guidelines with alcohol use disorders identification test questions

Drinking pattern criteria (drinking frequency and number of drinks per occasion) issued by the National Institute on Alcohol and Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) to screen primary practice patients for alcohol problems were evaluated in 1216 injured patients treated in a regional trauma center. Vehicular crash victims predominated (50.2%, of whom 64.5% were drivers), followed by victims of violence (31.2%) and nonviolent-injury victims (18.5%). Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) questions #1 (drinking frequency) and #2 (drinks/day) were used to assess the patients for current alcohol dependence (CAD). AUDIT responses roughly approximating NIAAA guidelines (high threshold: drinks > or = 4 times/week, > or = 5 drinks/day) and those indicating less drinking (low threshold: drinks > or = 2-3 times/ week, > or = 3 drinks/day) were chosen. Comparisons were made relative to sensitivity and specificity of responses in detecting CAD. When low threshold responses were used for either question, sensitivity to detect CAD increased overall (#1 from 0.53 to 0.80, #2 from 0.62 to 0.88) as well as among the subgroups of patients, whereas specificity remained high or at acceptable levels overall (#1 from 0.95 to 0.82, #2 from 0.92 to 0.71) and among the subgroups of patients. Study findings suggest that, among injured drivers and other groups of trauma center patients, lesser amounts of drinking should be used as screening criteria for CAD than are used for the general population.     

Factors Affecting Portable Falling Weight Deflectometer Measurements

Lower cost and better quality evaluations of pavement characteristics require precise quality assurance/control programs that relate test results to design practice. Rapid in situ stiffness testing enables transportation agencies to conduct reliable and defensible quality assurance programs. This study explores the feasibility of using a portable falling weight deflectometer (PFWD) to characterize pavement layer moduli. Efforts were made to investigate factors that may influence PFWD results. Field dynamic cone penetrometer as well as laboratory California bearing ratio tests were performed and compared with results obtained from PFWD. One of the most important factors concerning the PFWD modulus is the size of the PFWD loading plate. Our testing suggests that an appropriate plate size can be chosen from the measured modulus. The effects of drop height on PFWD moduli were found to be small as the moduli remained about the same regardless of the drop heights. Considering the personnel and skills required for data collection, result interpretation, speed of testing, and the quality of data produced, the PFWD is preferred. PFWD is an ideal device for quality control during compaction monitoring because it enables a rapid stiffness assessment of individual pavement layers.     

Freezing Temperatures of Freely Falling Industrial Wastewater Droplets

Spray freezing technology has been used in ice building construction in cold regions and artificial snow making. The spray freezing process involves heat and mass transfer and ice nucleation. The freezing temperature of the sprayed water is influenced by many factors, such as droplet size (volume), ambient air temperature, and impurity content of the water. An experimental study was carried out to investigate the influence of the droplet size (volume) and the ambient air temperature on the ice nucleation temperature of the freely suspended droplets of different qualities—piggery wastewater, pulp mill effluent, and oil sands tailings pond water. The time required to initiate freezing in the freely suspended wastewater droplets was measured under various experimental conditions using video-image technology. The ice nucleation temperature of the droplets were predicted based on the required freezing time and the rate of heat and mass transfer.     

Rates and independent correlates of Pap smear testing among Korean-American women

OBJECTIVES: This study reports population estimates of Pap smear testing among Korean-American women and evaluates correlates of testing. METHODS: Korean Americans in 2 California counties were surveyed by telephone. Frequencies were age-adjusted to the 1990 census to produce population estimates of testing. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate independent correlates of testing RESULTS: Only 50% of the Korean-American women surveyed had a Pap test in the previous 2 years. The strongest independent correlate was having had a regular check-up in the previous 2 years (odds ratio 7.2, 95% confidence interval 4.2, 12.1). CONCLUSIONS: Rates of Pap testing among Korean-American women are well below national objectives. Collaboration and community-sensitive research are essential to collect data and design programs to improve the health of ethnic minority communities.