BACKGROUND Minimal residual disease (MRD) testing by higher performance techniques such as flow cytometry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be used to detect the proportion of remaining leukemic cells in bone marrow or peripheral blood during and after the first phases of chemotherapy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The results of MRD testing are used to reclassify th...

Part of recent reforms of postgraduate medical training in the Netherlands is the introduction of formatively intended knowledge testing or progress testing. We previously evaluated the construct validity and reliability of postgraduate progress testing. However, when assessment is intended to be formative, the acceptability of the test (scores) and the educational impact that is achieved are a...

Software evolution is an ongoing process carried out with the aim of extending base applications either for adding new functionalities or for adapting software to changing environments. This brings about the need for estimating and determining the overall impact of changes to a software system. In the last few decades many such change/impact analysis techniques have been developed to identify c...

This study investigates the impact of monetary policy on balance of payments (BOP) adjustment in Nigeria within the periods, 1980-2015. The study used the bound testing approach to show the relationship that exists among monetary policy variables (money supply, domestic credit, inflation and exchange rate), output growth, and trade balance and BOP adjustment in Nigeria. The study shows that the...

Paying for performance provides financial rewards to medical care providers for improvements in performance measured by utilization and quality of care indicators. In 2006, Rwanda began a pay for performance scheme to improve health services delivery, including HIV/AIDS services. Using a prospective quasi-experimental design, this study examines the scheme's impact on individual and couples HIV...

Computerized neuropsychological testing is commonly utilized in the management of sport-related concussion. In particular, the Immediate Postconcussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing 2.0 program (ImPACT) is widely used to assess the cognitive functioning of athletes before and after a concussion. We review the evidence for the clinical utility of this program in terms of validity, reliability...

Rapid diagnostic tools have been shown to improve linkage of patients to care. In the context of infectious diseases, assessing the impact and cost-effectiveness of such tools at the population level, accounting for both direct and indirect effects, is key to informing adoption of these tools. Point-of-care (POC) CD4 testing has been shown to be highly effective in increasing the proportion of ...

In this work the reliability of a Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) microphone is studied through two accelerated life tests, mixed flowing gas (MFG) testing and shock impact testing. The objective is to identify the associated failure mechanisms and improve the reliability of MEMS devices. Failure analyses are carried out by using various tools, such as optical microscopy, scanning elect...

nowadays, high-voltage circuit breakers have reached such high short-circuit capabilities that testing them under the full rated voltage is generally not possible with direct tests, and they are conducted by using the synthetic test methods. although the phenomena associated with making tests is of particular importance especially in case of load break switches, but making tests are rather disr...