Prediction of maximal oxygen uptake in sedentary males from a perceptually regulated, sub-maximal graded exercise test

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity of predicting the maximal oxygen uptake (VO2(max)) of sedentary men from sub-maximal VO2 values obtained during a perceptually regulated exercise test. Thirteen healthy, sedentary males aged 29-52 years completed five graded exercise tests on a cycle ergometer. The first and fifth test involved a graded exercise test to determine VO2(max). The two maximal graded exercise tests were separated by three sub-maximal graded exercise tests, perceptually regulated at 3-min RPE intensities of 9, 11, 13, 15, and 17 on the Borg ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) scale, in that order. After confirmation that individual linear regression models provided the most appropriate fit to the data, the regression lines for the perceptual ranges 9-17, 9-15, and 11-17 were extrapolated to RPE 20 to predict VO2(max). There were no significant differences between VO2(max) values from the graded exercise tests (mean 43.9 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1), s = 6.3) and predicted VO2(max) values for the perceptual ranges 9-17 (40.7 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1), s = 2.2) and RPE 11-17 (42.5 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1), s = 2.3) across the three trials. The predicted VO2(max) from the perceptual range 9-15 was significantly lower (P < 0.05) (37.7 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1), s = 2.3). The intra-class correlation coefficients between actual and predicted VO2(max) for RPE 9-17 and RPE 11-17 across trials ranged from 0.80 to 0.87. Limits of agreement analysis on actual and predicted VO2 values (bias +/- 1.96 x S(diff)) were 3.4 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (+/- 10.7), 2.4 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (+/- 9.9), and 3.7 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (+/- 12.8) (trials 1, 2, and 3, respectively) of RPE range 9-17. Results suggest that a sub-maximal, perceptually guided graded exercise test provides acceptable estimates of VO2(max) in young to middle-aged sedentary males.     

A comparison of WISC-R and stanford-binet intelligence scale classifications of developmentally disabled children

WISC-Rs and Stanford-Binets were administered to 50 children with developmental disabilities referred for comprehensive evaluations. Although the two IQs correlated highly and significantly, it was found that 54% of the children received different classifications using the two instruments. Thus, testers should be aware that different classifications of intellectual level may be derived for the same child depending upon which test is used.     

Complacent and conflicting scientific expertise in British and American drug regulation: clinical risk assessment of triazolam

This paper presents a case study in the production and interpretation of regulatory science, focusing on the conflicting British and American clinical risk assessments of triazolam (Halcion) - the most controversial sleeping pill in the world. The regulation of triazolam is shown to be more permissive in the USA than in the UK. Six principal socio-political factors are put forward to explain this; differential regulatory trust; regulators' socio-technical data selections; medico-scientific disciplinary influences; organizational and professional interests; conflicts of interest of expert advisers; and the growth of the neo-liberal regulatory state. The risk assessments of both the British and American regulatory agencies are shown to be complacent relative to technical standards which the agencies themselves later accepted. It is suggested that, when the interests of pharmaceutical manufacturers and patients diverge, regulatory assessments are crucially affected by whether regulators are predisposed to award the benefit of the scientific doubts to the manufacturers or patients, and by the balance of such predispositions both within and between regulatory institutions of scientific expertise. The triazolam case indicates that the amount of trust placed in the pharmaceutical industry by the British American regulatory systems may hamper detection of flaws in manufacturers' medical data in a timely manner and, as a consequence, compromise patients' interests. Some policy implications for drug regulation are sketched.     

Developing a prototype information system framework to handle pedagogical knowledge in a secondary school modern foreign languages department

This paper reports a small-scale project to develop a prototype web-based information system to support teaching and learning within the modern languages department of a comprehensive secondary school. The system was developed in close consultation with the teaching staff and the work is presented within the broader context of knowledge management systems and their potential use in an educational environment.