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Zerem E, Kunosić S, Imširović B, Kurtčehajić A. SCIENCE METRICS SYSTEMS AND ACADEMIC PROMOTION: BOSNIAN REALITY. Psychiatr Danub 2021; 33:S371-S377. [PMID: 34010263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Societal importance and the quality of scientific research highly depend on the usefulness of the results of research for the societal and scientific community. The wish to allocate the funds to high-quali-ty research and to establish right criteria for scientific evaluation and academic career progression, make scientific criteria increasingly important to measure the quality of research and knowledge valorization. However, it is very difficult to apply the right criteria which can objectively assess scientific research. For many years, there has been a great interest in scientific ranking and evaluation of scientific journals, but also of sci-entific contribution of scientists. It is generally accepted that the IF (WoS) and the total number of citations of articles published in the journal, are the most relevant parameters of the journal's significance. However, the significance of a scientist and the value of their scientific production are much more complicated to evaluate and they cannot be directly reflected by the importance of the journals in which their articles are published. In this article, the authors describe and evaluate the most known scientific databases which are used in science. The majority of existing science metric systems, which evaluate the achievement of scientists are focused solely on the number of citations of their articles. For example, H-index, which is calculated as the lowest ranked ar-ticle which number of citations matches its ranking number, has considerable shortcoming because it does not take into account the individual contribution of each author and allows expanding author lists with authors whose contribution may be insignificant or none. Therefore, the authors propose Z-score, as a new science met-ric system, which takes into account the author's contribution to the scientific article and greatly remedy major discrepancies in evaluating scientific production of individual authors and institutions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Enver Zerem
- Department of Medical Sciences, The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bistrik 7, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Department of Health Studies, University Collage "CEPS", 71250 Kiseljak, Bosnia and Herzegovina; orcid.org/0000-0001-6906-3630
| | - Suad Kunosić
- Department of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Tuzla, 75000 Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina; ORCID number: 0000-0002-5211-4099
| | - Bilal Imširović
- Department of Radiology, General Hospital "Prim. Dr. Abdulah Nakaš", Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; ORCID number: 0000-0002-0941-6593
| | - Admir Kurtčehajić
- Department of Internal Medicine, Medical Center "Plava Poliklinika", 3th Tuzlanska Brigada No. 7, 75000, Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Bae TW. Image-quality metric system for color filter array evaluation. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0232583. [PMID: 32392215 PMCID: PMC7213733 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A modern color filter array (CFA) output is rendered into the final output image using a demosaicing algorithm. During this process, the rendered image is affected by optical and carrier cross talk of the CFA pattern and demosaicing algorithm. Although many CFA patterns have been proposed thus far, an image-quality (IQ) evaluation system capable of comprehensively evaluating the IQ of each CFA pattern has yet to be developed, although IQ evaluation items using local characteristics or specific domain have been created. Hence, we present an IQ metric system to evaluate the IQ performance of CFA patterns. The proposed CFA evaluation system includes proposed metrics such as the moiré robustness using the experimentally determined moiré starting point (MSP) and achromatic reproduction (AR) error, as well as existing metrics such as color accuracy using CIELAB, a color reproduction error using spatial CIELAB, structural information using the structure similarity, the image contrast based on MTF50, structural and color distortion using the mean deviation similarity index (MDSI), and perceptual similarity using Haar wavelet-based perceptual similarity index (HaarPSI). Through our experiment, we confirmed that the proposed CFA evaluation system can assess the IQ for an existing CFA. Moreover, the proposed system can be used to design or evaluate new CFAs by automatically checking the individual performance for the metrics used.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tae Wuk Bae
- Daegu-Gyeongbuk Research Center, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, Daegu, South Korea
- * E-mail: ,
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Maeda M, Muraki Y, Anno Y, Sawa A, Kusama Y, Ishikane M, Ohmagari N, Ohge H. Development of the predicted and standardized carbapenem usage metric: Analysis of the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination payment system data. J Infect Chemother 2020; 26:633-635. [PMID: 32146108 DOI: 10.1016/j.jiac.2020.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Revised: 02/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to develop a metric for standardized and predicted carbapenem consumption using the Diagnosis Procedure Combination payment system database and patients' characteristics. Based on Diagnosis Procedure Combination data analysis, the developed metric will provide useful benchmarks that stewardship programs can use to help drive improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masayuki Maeda
- Division of Infection Control Sciences, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 1-4-5 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Yuichi Muraki
- Department of Clinical Pharmacoepidemiology, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Yuka Anno
- Division of Infection Control Sciences, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Showa University, 1-4-5 Hatanodai, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Akihiro Sawa
- Laboratory of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hiroshima International University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Yoshiki Kusama
- Antimicrobial Resistance Clinical Reference Center, Disease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masahiro Ishikane
- Antimicrobial Resistance Clinical Reference Center, Disease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Norio Ohmagari
- Antimicrobial Resistance Clinical Reference Center, Disease Control and Prevention Center, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ohge
- Department of Infectious Diseases, Hiroshima University Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan
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Amir EAD, Guo XV, Mayovska O, Rahman AH. Average Overlap Frequency: A simple metric to evaluate staining quality and community identification in high dimensional mass cytometry experiments. J Immunol Methods 2017; 453:20-29. [PMID: 28882613 DOI: 10.1016/j.jim.2017.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Revised: 08/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
High dimensional cytometry now allows measurement of over 50 parameters in a single sample, and is typically visualized using sophisticated dimensionality-reducing methods and analyzed with automated clustering algorithms. While these tools facilitate the identification and presentation of key findings, it remains challenging to effectively monitor and report the staining quality of individual markers. We present the Average Overlap Frequency (AOF), a simple and efficient metric to evaluate and quantify the robustness of staining and clustering quality in high-dimensional data. We leverage the AOF to compare and determine the optimal storage conditions for stained whole blood samples prior to mass cytometry analysis. We also show that the AOF can be easily incorporated as part of automated analysis pipelines in large scale immune monitoring studies and used to flag and exclude samples with poor staining quality. We propose that the AOF may be incorporated as an essential quality control metric to better identify and report the underlying sample quality in all CyTOF and other high-dimensional cytometry experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- El-Ad David Amir
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Xinzheng V Guo
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Oksana Mayovska
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Adeeb H Rahman
- Human Immune Monitoring Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States.
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Reller TJ. Metrics should be a complement in research, not a substitute for human judgment. BMJ 2016; 354:i4929. [PMID: 27628739 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.i4929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Tom J Reller
- Elsevier, 1600 John F Kennedy Blvd #1800, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA
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Falcone JL, Falcone TD. You like t-mā-tōs and I like t-mä-tōs: a systematic review on the pronunciation of 'centimeter'. Am Surg 2013; 79:541-542. [PMID: 23635593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- John L Falcone
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
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Dumenko VN. [Possibilities of the metric estimation of gamma activity in human EEG]. Zh Vyssh Nerv Deiat Im I P Pavlova 2012; 62:645-653. [PMID: 23530443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
A review. Studies in the period of 2009-2011 are discussed, in which a new phenomenon in human EEG was found out, i.e., personal (individual) features ofneocortical gamma activity in parameters such as amplitude, frequency and width of the gamma band. This phenomenon was revealed in induced responses to visual stimuli in people under conditions of repeated research (after different time intervals - hours, weeks, months). The findings suggest the necessity of development of the metric system for assessment of this phenomenon and corresponding estimation of personal features of the gamma band and their stability (reliability), which would allow interindividual differences to be revealed.
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Fraser CG, Allison JE, Halloran SP, Young GP. A proposal to standardize reporting units for fecal immunochemical tests for hemoglobin. J Natl Cancer Inst 2012; 104:810-4. [PMID: 22472305 DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djs190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Fecal immunochemical tests for hemoglobin are replacing traditional guaiac fecal occult blood tests in population screening programs for many reasons. However, the many available fecal immunochemical test devices use a range of sampling methods, differ with regard to hemoglobin stability, and report hemoglobin concentrations in different ways. The methods for sampling, the mass of feces collected, and the volume and characteristics of the buffer used in the sampling device also vary among fecal immunochemical tests, making comparisons of test performance characteristics difficult. Fecal immunochemical test results may be expressed as the hemoglobin concentration in the sampling device buffer and, sometimes, albeit rarely, as the hemoglobin concentration per mass of feces. The current lack of consistency in units for reporting hemoglobin concentration is particularly problematic because apparently similar hemoglobin concentrations obtained with different devices can lead to very different clinical interpretations. Consistent adoption of an internationally accepted method for reporting results would facilitate comparisons of outcomes from these tests. We propose a simple strategy for reporting fecal hemoglobin concentration that will facilitate the comparison of results between fecal immunochemical test devices and across clinical studies. Such reporting is readily achieved by defining the mass of feces sampled and the volume of sample buffer (with confidence intervals) and expressing results as micrograms of hemoglobin per gram of feces. We propose that manufacturers of fecal immunochemical tests provide this information and that the authors of research articles, guidelines, and policy articles, as well as pathology services and regulatory bodies, adopt this metric when reporting fecal immunochemical test results.
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Jackson MC, Donohue I, Jackson AL, Britton JR, Harper DM, Grey J. Population-level metrics of trophic structure based on stable isotopes and their application to invasion ecology. PLoS One 2012; 7:e31757. [PMID: 22363724 PMCID: PMC3283663 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031757] [Citation(s) in RCA: 245] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2011] [Accepted: 01/18/2012] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological invasions are a significant driver of human-induced global change and many ecosystems sustain sympatric invaders. Interactions occurring among these invaders have important implications for ecosystem structure and functioning, yet they are poorly understood. Here we apply newly developed metrics derived from stable isotope data to provide quantitative measures of trophic diversity within populations or species. We then use these to test the hypothesis that sympatric invaders belonging to the same functional feeding group occupy a smaller isotopic niche than their allopatric counterparts. Two introduced, globally important, benthic omnivores, Louisiana swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and carp (Cyprinus carpio), are sympatric in Lake Naivasha, Kenya. We applied our metrics to an 8-year data set encompassing the establishment of carp in the lake. We found a strong asymmetric interaction between the two invasive populations, as indicated by inverse correlations between carp abundance and measures of crayfish trophic diversity. Lack of isotopic niche overlap between carp and crayfish in the majority of years indicated a predominantly indirect interaction. We suggest that carp-induced habitat alteration reduced the diversity of crayfish prey, resulting in a reduction in the dietary niche of crayfish. Stable isotopes provide an integrated signal of diet over space and time, offering an appropriate scale for the study of population niches, but few isotope studies have retained the often insightful information revealed by variability among individuals in isotope values. Our population metrics incorporate such variation, are robust to the vagaries of sample size and are a useful additional tool to reveal subtle dietary interactions among species. Although we have demonstrated their applicability specifically using a detailed temporal dataset of species invasion in a lake, they have a wide array of potential ecological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle C. Jackson
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, England
| | - Ian Donohue
- School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Andrew L. Jackson
- School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Trinity Centre for Biodiversity Research, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - J. Robert Britton
- Centre for Conservation Ecology and Environmental Change, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, England
| | - David M. Harper
- Department of Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, England
| | - Jonathan Grey
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, England
- Department of Physiological Ecology, Max Planck Institute for Limnology, Plön, Germany
- * E-mail:
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Nordin G. [CRP can never be "35". The measurement unit is part of the measurement results--and should be standardized]. Lakartidningen 2010; 107:1850-1852. [PMID: 20873333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
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Managers will lead NHS changes. Nurs Times 2009; 105:34. [PMID: 19400344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
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Carbamazepine oral syringe graduated in millilitres: New measuring device: risk of dosing errors. Prescrire Int 2008; 17:101. [PMID: 18623909] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
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Fabricant D. Arsenic in herbal kelp supplements: concentration, regulations, and labeling. Environ Health Perspect 2007; 115:A574; author reply A576-7. [PMID: 18087567 PMCID: PMC2137117 DOI: 10.1289/ehp.10360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
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Ramsthaler F, Kreutz K, Verhoff MA. Accuracy of metric sex analysis of skeletal remains using Fordisc® based on a recent skull collection. Int J Legal Med 2007; 121:477-82. [PMID: 17899153 DOI: 10.1007/s00414-007-0199-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2006] [Accepted: 08/20/2007] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
It has been generally accepted in skeletal sex determination that the use of metric methods is limited due to the population dependence of the multivariate algorithms. The aim of the study was to verify the applicability of software-based sex estimations outside the reference population group for which discriminant equations have been developed. We examined 98 skulls from recent forensic cases of known age, sex, and Caucasian ancestry from cranium collections in Frankfurt and Mainz (Germany) to determine the accuracy of sex determination using the statistical software solution Fordisc which derives its database and functions from the US American Forensic Database. In a comparison between metric analysis using Fordisc and morphological determination of sex, average accuracy for both sexes was 86 vs 94%, respectively, and males were identified more accurately than females. The ratio of the true test result rate to the false test result rate was not statistically different for the two methodological approaches at a significance level of 0.05 but was statistically different at a level of 0.10 (p=0.06). Possible explanations for this difference comprise different ancestry, age distribution, and socio-economic status compared to the Fordisc reference sample. It is likely that a discriminant function analysis on the basis of more similar European reference samples will lead to more valid and reliable sexing results. The use of Fordisc as a single method for the estimation of sex of recent skeletal remains in Europe cannot be recommended without additional morphological assessment and without a built-in software update based on modern European reference samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Ramsthaler
- Department of Legal Medicine, University of Frankfurt/Main, Kennedyallee 104, 60596 Frankfurt/Main, Germany.
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Abstract
This article aims to identify and improve nurses' numeracy skills in one specific area of clinical practice: fluid balance. Three different patient scenarios are used as examples to show what type of calculations nurses need to be able to perform to ensure good practice.
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Eckstein F, Ateshian G, Burgkart R, Burstein D, Cicuttini F, Dardzinski B, Gray M, Link TM, Majumdar S, Mosher T, Peterfy C, Totterman S, Waterton J, Winalski CS, Felson D. Proposal for a nomenclature for magnetic resonance imaging based measures of articular cartilage in osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 2006; 14:974-83. [PMID: 16730462 DOI: 10.1016/j.joca.2006.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 184] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2005] [Accepted: 03/11/2006] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of articular cartilage has evolved to be an important tool in research on cartilage (patho)physiology and osteoarthritis (OA). MRI provides a wealth of novel and quantitative information, but there exists no commonly accepted terminology for reporting these metrics. The objective of this initiative was to propose a nomenclature for definitions and names to be used in scientific communications and to give recommendations as to which minimal methodological information should be provided when reporting MRI-based measures of articular cartilage in OA. METHODS An international group of experts with direct experience in MRI measurement of cartilage morphology or composition reviewed the existing literature. Through an iterative process that included a meeting with a larger group of scientists and clinicians (December 2nd, 2004, Chicago, IL, USA), they discussed, refined, and proposed a nomenclature for MRI-based measures of articular cartilage in OA. RESULTS The group proposes a nomenclature that describes: (1) the anatomical location and (2) the structural feature being measured, each name consisting of a metric variable combined with a tissue label. In addition, the group recommends minimal methodological information that should be described. CONCLUSIONS Utilization of this nomenclature should facilitate communication within the scientific community. Further, the uniform adoption of comprehensive nomenclature to describe quantitative MRI- features of articular cartilage should strengthen epidemiological, clinical, and pharmacological studies in OA.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Eckstein
- Institute of Anatomy & Musculoskeletal Research, Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
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Abstract
Recently, a metric approach to skeletal sex determination was published by Paiva and Segre which is based on the summation of two triangular areas defined by three distinct craniometric landmarks: Porion, Mastoidale, and Asterion. According to the authors, values for the total triangle > or =1447.40 mm(2) are characteristic for male crania, while values < or =1260.36 mm(2) are indicative of female skulls (95% confidence). In order to evaluate the method's validity, two sex- and age-documented samples of different provenience were analyzed (N=197). The results show that while the indicated measurements display significant sex differences, the technique is of little practical meaning where a single individual must be independently classified. It is hypothesized that differences in the expression of sexual dimorphism as well as a population-specific variability of the asterion location undermine the value of the mastoid triangle as a sex determinant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariane Kemkes
- Institut für Anthropologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Colonel-Kleinmann-Weg 2 (SBII), Mainz 55099, Germany.
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Abstract
Increasing numbers of large proteomic datasets are becoming available. As attempts are made to interpret these datasets and integrate them with other forms of genomic data, researchers are becoming more aware of the importance of data quality with respect to protein identification. We present three simple and universal metrics that describe different aspects of the quality of protein identifications by peptide mass fingerprinting. Hit ratio gives an indication of the signal-to-noise ratio in a mass spectrum, mass coverage measures the amount of protein sequence matched, and excess of limit-digested peptides reflects the completeness of the digestion that precedes the peptide mass fingerprinting. Receiver-operating characteristic plots show that the novel metric, excess of limit-digested peptides, can discriminate between correct and random matches more accurately than search score when validating the results from a state-of-the-art protein identification software system (Mascot) especially when combined with the two other metrics, hit ratio and mass coverage. Recommendations are made regarding the use of the metrics when reporting protein identification experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Stead
- School of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, United Kingdom
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Gadzik J. "How much should I weigh?"--Quetelet's equation, upper weight limits, and BMI prime. Conn Med 2006; 70:81-8. [PMID: 16768059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Body mass index (BMI) is derived from Quetelet's equation. Federal guidelines define a healthy BMI range of 18.5 to 24.9. Unfortunately, few physicians can quickly convert these BMI recommendations into corresponding weights, because Quetelet's formula is tedious to compute. Two new linear equations (one metric, the other Avoirdupois) are introduced to allow easy calculation of the weight limits above which adults would be considered unhealthy. From these formulas, simple equations to calculate lower weight limits, obese weight limits, morbidly obese weight limits, and BMI follow. In fact, for any given height, it is possible to reproduce the entire BMI table, independent of Quetelet's formula. An isolated BMI value, under the current system, not only fails to convey a quantitative sense of obesity, but is also expressed in confusing units. It is proposed that the current BMI system be modified to yield a more pertinent BMI Prime system, which relates a patient's actual weight to his upper weight limit.
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Villmoare B. Metric and non-metric randomization methods, geographic variation, and the single-species hypothesis for Asian and African Homo erectus. J Hum Evol 2005; 49:680-701. [PMID: 16202442 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2003] [Revised: 07/11/2005] [Accepted: 07/13/2005] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
This paper proposes a statistical test of the single-species hypothesis using non-metric characters as a complement to statistical tests using more traditional metric characters. The sample examined is that of Asian and African Homo erectus. The paleoanthropological community is divided on the taxonomic distinction of these fossils, with workers arguing both for and against the species-level distinction between Asian and African populations. Previous arguments have focused on patterns of apparent morphological differentiation between the African and Asian cranial samples. To assess this question, three tests were performed that compared the range of variation in the fossil sample to a single-species group with a similar geographic distribution; this comparative sample was composed of 221 modern humans from Africa and Asia. For the first test, 23 metric characters were analyzed on the fossil and comparative samples. Using resampling procedures, the variation for these characters was examined, recreating 1000 samples from the human analogs and comparing the CV distributions of these samples to the CVs of the fossil group. The second test used the metric data to calculate a Euclidean distance between the African and Asian fossil samples. This distance was compared to a distribution of Euclidean distances calculated between 1000 randomly selected samples of African and Asian modern humans. For the third test, a grading scale was created for ten non-metric characters that encompassed the total morphological variation found in the fossil and modern human samples. The Manhattan distance between the Asian and African fossil samples was calculated and compared to a distribution of distances calculated between 1000 randomly selected samples of African and Asian moderns. The first two tests, using the metric data, failed to falsify the null hypothesis. However, in the third test, using non-metric data, the total Manhattan distance for the fossil sample approached the 100th percentile of the resampled distances calculated from the moderns. The implications of the contrasting results are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian Villmoare
- Arizona State University, Department of Anthropology, Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA.
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Abstract
The main objective of any modeling exercise is to provide a rationale for effective decision making during drug development. The aim of the current simulation experiment was to evaluate the properties of predictive check as a covariate model qualification technique and, more importantly, to introduce and evaluate alternative criteria to qualify models.Original concentration-time profiles (yod) were simulated using a 1-compartment model for an intravenous drug administered to 25 men and 25 women. The typical clearance for male subjects (TVCLm) was assumed to be 5-fold higher than that for female subjects (TVCLf). Fifty such trials under the same design were generated randomly. Predictive check was used as the model qualification tool to study predictive performance of true (males not equal females) and false (males = females) models in the context of maximum likelihood estimation. For each yod, 200 replications were generated to study the properties of a discrepancy variable, a statistic that depends on the model, and a test statistic, a statistic that does not depend on the model. Several qualification criteria were evaluated in assessing predictive performance, such as, predictive p-value (Pp), probability of equivalence (peqv), and probability of rejecting the null hypothesis (data = model) using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test (pks). The Pp value was calculated using sum of squared errors as a discrepancy variable. For both of the models, the Pp values uniformly ranged between 0 and 1. The pattern of Pp values suggests that qualification of the false model is unlikely. For both of the models, the range of peqv is about 0.95 to 1.0 for concentration at 0.5 hours. However, this is not the case for the concentration at 4 hours, which is primarily dependent on the clearance. The false model (0.35 to 0.50) has poor predictive performance compared with the true model (0.65 to 0.80) using peqv. The pks suggests no difference in the distributions of replicated and original concentrations at all of the time points for both of the models. Discrepancy variables cannot aid in rejecting false models, whereas the use of a test statistic can aid in rejecting false models. However, selection of an informative test statistic is challenging. As far as the qualification criteria are considered, the equivalence-based comparison of a test statistic is more informative than a significance-based comparison. No convincing evidence exists in the literature demonstrating the added advantages of predictive check as a routine model qualification tool over the existing tools, such as diagnostic plots or mechanistic reasoning. However, when a model is to be used for designing a trial, it should at least be able to regenerate the data used to build the model. In such cases, predictive check might offer insights into potential inconsistencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pravin R. Jadhav
- />Division of Pharmaceutical Evaluation-1, Office of Clinical Pharmacology and Biopharmaceutics, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, 1451 Rockville Pike, Rm 2039, HFD-860, 20852 Rockville, MD
- />Department of Pharmaceutics, Medical College of Virginia, VA Commonwealth University, 23298 Richmond, VA
| | - Jogarao V. S. Gobburu
- />Division of Pharmaceutical Evaluation-1, Office of Clinical Pharmacology and Biopharmaceutics, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, 1451 Rockville Pike, Rm 2039, HFD-860, 20852 Rockville, MD
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24
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Schwartz ID. "Globesity" and units of measurements. J Pediatr 2005; 146:577; author reply 577. [PMID: 15812474 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2004.10.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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25
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Smith MS. Say what? Physician Exec 2005; 31:66-8. [PMID: 15844804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
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26
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Abstract
The absence of population-specific standards for sex, age and stature estimation for rural Guatemala is problematic for the forensic analysis of skeletal remains recovered from clandestine graves attributed to the recent armed conflict in that country. In order to increase the reliability of the forensic analyses being undertaken in Guatemala, standards for metric determination of sex were developed. Data was collected on several bones; the results for the humerus are presented here. A sample of 118 complete humeri (68 male and 50 female) was studied; maximum length, maximum diameter of the head, circumference at midshaft, maximum diameter at midshaft, minimum diameter at midshaft and epicondylar breadth were measured and subjected to discriminant function analysis. The classification accuracies for the univariate functions range from 76.8% for the maximum diameter at midshaft to 95.5% for the maximum diameter of the head. The classification accuracy for the stepwise procedure was 98.2%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Ríos Frutos
- Unit of Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain.
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27
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Keita SOY. Exploring northeast African metric craniofacial variation at the individual level: A comparative study using principal components analysis. Am J Hum Biol 2004; 16:679-89. [PMID: 15495230 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.20076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
A principal components analysis was carried out on male crania from the northeast quadrant of Africa and selected European and other African series. Individuals, not predefined groups, were the units of study, while nevertheless keeping group membership in evidence. The first principal component seems to largely capture "size" variation in crania from all of the regions. The same general morphometric trends were found to exist within the African and European crania, although there was some broad separation along a cline. Anatomically, the second principal component captures predominant trends denoting a broader to narrower nasal aperture combined with a similar shape change in the maxilla, an inverse relation between face-base lengths ("projection") and base breadths, and a decrease in anterior base length relative to base breadth. The third principal component broadly describes trends within Africa and Europe: specifically, a change from a combination of a relatively narrower face and longer vault, to one of a wider face and shorter vault; it shows the northeast quadrant Africans along a cline with the other Africans. Stated in relative terms, the northeastern Africans tend to exhibit narrower bases in relationship to more projecting faces, and broader nasal areas than Europeans, although there is range of variation. Relative to the other African groups, they have narrower nasal areas and narrower faces in relationship to vault length. The crania from the northeast quadrant of Africa collectively demonstrate the greatest pattern of overlap with both Europeans and other Africans. Variation was found to be high in all series but greatest in the African material as a whole. Individuals from different geographical regions frequently plotted near each other, revealing aspects of variation at the level of individuals that is obscured by concentrating on the most distinctive facial traits once used to construct "types." The high level of African interindividual variation in craniometric pattern is reminiscent of the great level of molecular diversity found in Africa. These results, coupled with those of Y chromosome studies, may help generate hypotheses concerning the length of time over which recent craniometric variation emerged in Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- S O Y Keita
- National Human Genome Center at Howard University, Anthropology Department, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC 20060, USA
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28
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Werner R. Errors in temperature conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit in the article "The Golden Hours" for Heatstroke Treatment. Mil Med 2004; 169:iv. [PMID: 15291176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/30/2023] Open
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29
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Addis GJ. Alcohol evidence and policy: decimalise measure of alcohol. BMJ 2004; 328:1203. [PMID: 15142947 PMCID: PMC411114 DOI: 10.1136/bmj.328.7449.1203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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30
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Abstract
Spike train metrics quantify the notion of dissimilarity, or distance, between spike trains and between multineuronal responses (J. Neurophysiol. 76 (1996) 1310, Network 8 (1997) 127). We present a new algorithm for the implementation of a metric based on the timing of individual spikes and on their neurons of origin. This algorithm surpasses the earlier approach in speed by a factor that grows exponentially with the number of neurons, substantially extending the applicability of metric space methods to the study of coding in larger neuronal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitriy Aronov
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, 1002 Fairchild, Mail Code 2436, 1212 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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31
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Abstract
Mistakes in calculation can lead to potentially dangerous prescribing errors. This article takes the nurse prescriber through some basic calculations and points out the possible pitfalls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meriel Hutton
- Faculty of Health and Community Care, University of Central England, Birmingham.
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32
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Albanese J. A metric method for sex determination using the hipbone and the femur. J Forensic Sci 2003; 48:263-73. [PMID: 12664981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
Since the earliest descriptions of the pubis length measurement, it has been recognized that the location of the key landmark in the acetabulum has to be estimated. Using samples from the Terry Collection (n = 324) and the Coimbra Collection (n = 232), the purpose of this research is to, first, test the reproducibility of a new alternative to the traditional measurement of the pubis, and second, to use the best measurement of the pubis along with other measurements of the hipbone and femur to develop a metric method that can be used with confidence to determine the sex of individuals of various geographic origins and time periods. In this study, it was found that, first, the alternative pubis measurement, known as the superior pubis ramus length (SPRL), can be collected more reliably with less mean intra-observer error (0.57%) than the more commonly used manner of measuring the pubis (2.7%). Second, a logistic regression sex determination method using the SPRL, along with other measurements of the hipbone and femur, has an allocation accuracy of 90% to 98.5% (depending on the model used and the manner of testing) across independent samples. Third, traditional racial categorization was irrelevant to the accuracy of the method. Fourth, measurement error greater than 2% in the measurement of the pubis can be the difference between a correct and an incorrect allocation of sex, particularly in borderline cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Albanese
- Department of Anthropology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4L9, Canada.
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Kim M, Han HR, Phillips L. Metric Equivalence Assessment in Cross-Cultural Research: Using an Example of the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale. J Nurs Meas 2003; 11:5-18. [PMID: 15132008 DOI: 10.1891/jnum.11.1.5.52061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Metric equivalence is a quantitative way to assess cross-cultural equivalences of translated instruments by examining the patterns of psychometric properties based on cross-cultural data derived from both versions of the instrument. Metric equivalence checks at item and instrument levels can be used as a valuable tool to refine cross-cultural instruments. Korean and English versions of the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale (CES–D) were administered to 154 Korean Americans and 151 Anglo Americans to illustrate approaches to assessing their metric equivalence. Inter-item and item-total correlations, Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, and factor analysis were used for metric equivalence checks. The alpha coefficient for the Korean-American sample was 0.85 and 0.92 for the Anglo American sample. Although all items of the CES–D surpassed the desirable minimum of 0.30 in the Anglo American sample, four items did not meet the standard in the Korean American sample. Differences in average inter-item correlations were also noted between the two groups (0.25 for Korean Americans and 0.37 for Anglo Americans). Factor analysis identified two factors for both groups, and factor loadings showed similar patterns and congruence coefficients. Results of the item analysis procedures suggest the possibility of bias in certain items that may influence the sensitivity of the Korean version of the CES–D. These item biases also provide a possible explanation for the alpha differences. Although factor loadings showed similar patterns for the Korean and English versions of the CES–D, factorial similarity alone is not sufficient for testing the universality of the structure underlying an instrument.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miyong Kim
- Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
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Abstract
Nuclear regulations are a subset of social regulations (laws to control activities that may negatively impact the environment, health, and safety) that concern control of ionizing radiation from radiation-producing equipment and from radioactive materials. The impressive safety record among nuclear technologies is due, in no small part, to the work of radiation safety professionals and to a protection system that has kept pace with the rapid technologic advancements in electric power generation, engineering, and medicine. The price of success, however, has led to a regulatory organization and philosophy characterized by complexity, confusion, public fear, and increasing economic costs. Over the past 20 years, regulatory costs in the nuclear sector have increased more than 250% in constant 1995 U.S. dollars. Costs of regulatory compliance can be reduced sharply, particularly when health and environmental benefits of risk reduction are questionable. Three key regulatory areas should be closely examined and modified to improve regulatory effectiveness and efficiency: a) radiation protection should be changed from a risk-based to dose-based system; b) the U.S. government should adopt the modern metric system (International System of Units), and radiation quantities and units should be simplified to facilitate international communication and public understanding; and c) a single, independent office is needed to coordinate nuclear regulations established by U.S. federal agencies and departments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth L Mossman
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA.
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35
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Smith EV. Metric development and score reporting in Rasch measurement. J Appl Meas 2002; 1:303-26. [PMID: 12029173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
This article: 1) describes problems in score reporting with the True-Score Model, 2) presents a definition of the Rasch measurement unit, the logit, 3) reviews various transformations of the logit metric, and 4) provides examples of score reporting procedures. Two data sets are used. The first contains dichotomous data drawn from responses to a multiple-response statistics examination taken by Ph.D. students; the second contains polychotomous data from a self-efficacy assessment given to war veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- E V Smith
- College of Education, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1040 W. Harrison Street, M/C 147, Chicago, IL 60607, USA.
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Payandeh S, Lomax AJ, Dill J, Mackenzie CL, Cao CGL. On defining metrics for assessing laparoscopic surgical skills in a virtual training environment. Stud Health Technol Inform 2002; 85:334-40. [PMID: 15458111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/30/2023]
Abstract
One of the key components of any training environment for surgical education is a method that can be used for assessing surgical skills. Traditionally, defining such a method has been difficult and based mainly on observations. However, through advances in modeling techniques and computer hardware and software, such methods can now be developed using combined visual and haptic rendering of a training scene. This paper presents some ideas on how metrics may be defined and used in the assessment of surgical skills in a virtual laparoscopic training environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahram Payandeh
- Schools of Engineering Science and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5A 1S6
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37
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Abstract
The main objective of this study was to develop an effective potentiometric saturation titration protocol for determining the aqueous intrinsic solubility and the solubility-pH profile of ionizable molecules, with the specific aim of overcoming incomplete dissolution conditions, while attempting to shorten the data collection time. A modern theory of dissolution kinetics (an extension of the Noyes-Whitney approach) was applied to acid-base titration experiments. A thermodynamic method was developed, based on a three-component model, to calculate interfacial, diffusion-layer, and bulk-water reactant concentrations in saturated solutions of ionizable compounds perturbed by additions of acid/base titrant, leading to partial dissolution of the solid material. Ten commercial drugs (cimetidine, diltiazem hydrochloride, enalapril maleate, metoprolol tartrate, nadolol, propoxyphene hydrochloride, quinine hydrochloride, terfenadine, trovafloxacin mesylate, and benzoic acid) were chosen to illustrate the new titration methodology. It was shown that the new method is about 10 times faster in determining equilibrium solubility constants, compared to the traditional saturation shake-flask methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Avdeef
- pION Inc., 5 Constitution Way, Woburn, MA 01801, USA.
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Abstract
Human subjects perform poorly at matching different images of unfamiliar faces. When images are taken by different capture devices (cameras), matching is difficult for human perceivers and also for automatic systems. We test an automatic face recognition system based on principal components analysis (PCA) and compare its performance with that of human subjects tested on the same set of images. A number of variants of the PCA system are compared, using different matching metrics and different numbers of components. PCA performance critically depends on the choice of distance metric, with a Mahalanobis metric consistently outperforming a Euclidean metric. Under optimal conditions, the automatic PCA system exceeds human performance on the same images. We hypothesise that unfamiliar face recognition may be mediated by processes corresponding to rather simple functions of the inputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- A M Burton
- University of Glasgow, Department of Psychology, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, UK.
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39
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Common conversion factors. Curr Protoc Cytom 2001; Appendix 1:Appendix 1B. [PMID: 18770653 DOI: 10.1002/0471142956.cya01bs15] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
This appendix presents tables of some of the more common conversion factors for units of measure used throughout Current Protocols manuals, as well as prefixes indicating powers of ten for SI units. Another table gives conversions between temperatures on the Celsius (Centigrade) and Fahrenheit scales.
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40
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Common conversion factors. Curr Protoc Protein Sci 2001; Appendix 1:Appendix 1D. [PMID: 18429064 DOI: 10.1002/0471140864.psa01ds17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
This appendix lists some of the more common conversion factors for units of measure used throughout Current Protocols manuals, and gives prefixes indicating powers of ten for SI units.
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41
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Gayton WF, Hearns JF, Elgee L, Harvey C. Attitudes toward the Metric System 15 Years Later. Psychol Rep 2001; 88:489-90. [PMID: 11351895 DOI: 10.2466/pr0.2001.88.2.489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This follow-up study investigated whether attitudes toward the metric system have changed over the last 15 years. 132 subjects ranging in age from 18 to 45 years participated by filling out a 7-item survey designed to measure attitudes toward the metric system. Each survey item was scored using a 5-point rating, e.g., “the change to the metric system will create more problems than it solves,” 1: strongly agree and 5: strongly disagree. Scores were compared to those obtained for a similar sample in 1983. Comparisons using t tests indicated no significant differences between attitude scores from 1983 to 1998 for either men ( t64 = .95) or women ( t133 =.06).
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Affiliation(s)
- W F Gayton
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME 04104, USA
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42
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Abstract
The ability to judge egocentric distance was assessed in two groups of six observers using a manual pointing task. The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which blur-driven accommodation can provide information on target distance in the absence of any retinal cues to distance. Observers were extremely accurate when carrying out the pointing task in a 'full-cue' condition. In contrast, observers were extremely poor at carrying out the task when accommodation was the only distance cue available. Responses on individual trials bore little relationship to the actual target distance in any of the observers. On the other hand, accommodation weakly biased the mean responses in some observers. This bias appears to be due to the observers' effective use of accommodation to determine whether the target presented in one trial was nearer or further away than the target presented in the previous trial. Accommodation therefore appears to provide ordinal information, although the distance signal may actually arise from accommodation-driven vergence. The poverty of accommodation as a source of metric information was highlighted in a second group of observers who all demonstrated a strong bias when perceiving distance in the presence of an initially ambiguous retinal cue. It is concluded that accommodation can act as a source of ordinal distance information in the absence of other cues to distance but the contribution of accommodation to normal distance perception in full-cue conditions is questioned.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Mon-Williams
- Department of Human Movement Studies, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.
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43
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Lindemann M. Doing two-step dosage calculations. Nursing 2000; 30:68-70. [PMID: 11000824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2023]
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Agrawal M. Printing names of medicines on the strip-sides and using metric units. J Indian Med Assoc 2000; 98:31. [PMID: 11016145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/15/2023]
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study explains why frequency polygons for US birthweights in 100-g weight classes appear spiky compared with their European counterparts. METHODS A probability model is used to describe how unit conversion can induce misclassification. Birthweights from the United States and Norway are used to illustrate that misclassification operates in grouped US data. RESULTS Spikiness represents misclassification that arises when measured birthweights are rounded to the nearer ounce, converted to grams, and then grouped into weight classes. Misclassification is ameliorated, not eliminated, with 200-g weight classes. CONCLUSIONS Possible biases from misclassification should be carefully evaluated when fitting statistical models to grouped US birthweights.
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Affiliation(s)
- D M Umbach
- Biostatistics Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.
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Richards JF, Creamer L. Solving the microgram/kilogram puzzle. Am J Nurs 1999; 99:12. [PMID: 10542834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/14/2023]
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47
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48
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Cholewicki J, Wolf SW. Unit of measurement: newton (N) versus kilogram force (kgf). J Hand Surg Am 1998; 23:952. [PMID: 9763279 DOI: 10.1016/s0363-5023(98)80181-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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49
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Wang T. Intravenous infusion calculations the painless way. J Pract Nurs 1998; 48:31-48; quiz 49-53. [PMID: 10214183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- T Wang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA
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50
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