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At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources

Bone mineral analysis of the rat femur by direct photon absorptiometry.

This report describes a method using direct photon absorptiometry (DPA) for determination in vivo of the bone mineral content to bone width ratio (BMC/W) in the rat femur. A significant correlation was noted between measurements by DPA and whole femur dry weight and ash weight. Measurements were reproducible within repeated determinations of both the same and successive days. Soft tissue, rotation of the femur, or slight differences in the longitudinal positioning of the femur did not significantly affect usefulness of the measurements. A significant positive correlation was seen between body weight and the femur BMC/W, indicating that the method accurately reflected expected physiological changes in bone mineral. The method is suitable for the rapid, simple, accurate, and reproducible measurement of bone mineral in the anesthetized rat and is applicable to serial measurements.

Animals↗

Determination of ochratoxin A in wine and beer by immunoaffinity column cleanup and liquid chromatographic analysis with fluorometric detection: collaborative study.

The accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility characteristics of a liquid chromatographic method for the determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) in white wine, red wine, and beer were established in a collaborative study involving 18 laboratories in 10 countries. Blind duplicates of blank, spiked, and naturally contaminated materials at levels ranging from < or =0.01 to 3.00 ng/mL were analyzed. Wine and beer samples were diluted with a solution containing polyethylene glycol and sodium hydrogen carbonate, and the diluted samples were filtered and cleaned up on an immunoaffinity column. OTA was eluted with methanol and quantified by reversed-phase liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection. Average recoveries from white wine, red wine, and beer ranged from 88.2 to 105.4% (at spiking levels ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 ng/mL), from 84.3 to 93.1% (at spiking levels ranging from 0.2 to 3.0 ng/mL), and from 87.0 to 95.0% (at spiking levels ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 ng/mL), respectively. Relative standard deviations for within-laboratory repeatability (RSDr) ranged from 6.6 to 10.8% for white wine, from 6.5 to 10.8% for red wine, and from 4.7 to 16.5% for beer. Relative standard deviations for between-laboratories reproducibility (RSDR) ranged from 13.1 to 15.9% for white wine, from 11.9 to 13.6% for red wine, and from 15.2 to 26.1% for beer. HORRAT values were < or =0.4 for the 3 matrixes.

Beer↗

Leg ischemia: assessment with MR angiography and spectroscopy.

PURPOSE: To prospectively determine reproducibility of magnetic resonance (MR) angiography and MR spectroscopy of deoxymyoglobin in assessment of collateral vessels and tissue perfusion in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) and to follow changes in patients undergoing intramuscular vascular endothelial growth factor (pVEGF)-C gene therapy, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, supervised exercise training, or no therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study and gene therapy protocols were approved, and all patients gave written informed consent. To determine repeatability and reproducibility, seven patients underwent MR angiography and five underwent MR spectroscopy. The techniques were used to judge disease progress in 12 other patients with or without therapy: MR angiography to help determine change in visualization of collateral vessels and MR spectroscopy to help assess change in perfusion at proximal and distal calf levels. MR angiographic results were subjectively analyzed by three blinded readers. Intraobserver variability was expressed as 95% confidence interval (CI) (n=7); interobserver variability, as kappa statistic (n=15). Reexamination variability of MR spectroscopy was given as 95% CI for subsequent recovery times, and correlation with disease extent was calculated with Kendall taub rank correlation. Fisher-Yates test was used to correlate changes with pressure measurements and clinical course. RESULTS: Intraobserver and interobserver concordance was sensitive for detection of collateral vessels. Intraobserver agreement was 85.7% (95% CI: 42.1%, 99.6%). Interobserver agreement was high for small collateral vessels (kappa=0.74, P <.001) and fair for large collateral vessels (kappa=0.36, P=.002). MR spectroscopy was reproducible (95% CI: +/-26 seconds for proximal, +/-21 seconds for distal) and showed a correlation with disease extent (proximal calf, taub=0.84, P <.001; distal calf, taub=0.68, P=.04). Small collateral vessels increased over time (P=.04) but did not correlate with pressure measurements and clinical course. Recovery time correlated with clinical course (proximal calf, P=.03; distal calf, P=.005). CONCLUSION: MR angiography and MR spectroscopy of deoxymyoglobin can help document changes in visualization of collateral vessels and tissue perfusion in patients with CLI.

Aged↗

Test of growth hormone secretion in adults: poor reproducibility of the insulin tolerance test.

The insulin tolerance test (ITT) is regarded as the most reliable provocative test in the diagnosis of growth hormone (GH) deficiency in adults. In the present study the test was evaluated by investigating the range of GH responses in normal adult males and females and the intra-individual reproducibility of the test. Sixteen healthy non-obese adults, eight males (median age 31.5 years) and eight females (median age 31.8 years) were tested twice with the ITT, with a minimum of 72 h between each test. The females were tested between day 3 and day 10 of their menstrual cycles. Adequate hypoglycemia was achieved in all cases with a median nadir blood glucose of 1.3 mmol/l (range 0.8-2.0). Growth hormone in serum was measured by immunoradiometric assay and low values were confirmed by a different assay. Median peak GH concentration responses to the ITT were: in males 27.9 micrograms/l, range 5.0-71.1 (test 1) and 30.5 micrograms/l, range 7.9-69.5 (test 2); and in females 9.0 micrograms/l, range 4.1-17.9 (test 1) and 8.4 micrograms/l, range 0.09-42.4 (test 2). The rise in GH concentration during the ITT was higher in males than in females. In the males, all stimulated GH values were > or = 5.0 micrograms/l. In the females, four out of 16 tests gave values below 5.0 micrograms/l and in one test the GH value was around the detection limit of the assays. There was poor reproducibility during repeated testing, with no correlation between the results of the two tests. The results did not correlate to the magnitude of the hypoglycemia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Effects of metal implants on whole-body dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry measurements of bone mineral content and body composition.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of metal implants on measurements of bone mineral content and body composition by x-ray-based dual-photon absorptiometry. METHODS: Four whole-body dual-photon absorptiometry scans were performed on 13 participants with metal rods either present or absent during the scans. The influence of the amount of metal (50 g, 100 g and 150 g), the proximity of the metal rod to the x-ray source and the reproducibility of any metal-induced effects were evaluated by altering the position or the size of the metal rod used, or both. RESULTS: The presence of metal rods weighing 100 g or 150 g significantly increased reported total body mass and bone mineral content (p < 0.034). Soft-tissue mass was increased when the scan included the 100-g rod (p < 0.003). The proximity of the metal to the x-ray source did not have a significant influence on the body composition changes induced by the metal. The effects of the metal rods on body composition variables were reproducible. CONCLUSION: The presence of metal rods inflated body composition variables measured by dual-photon absorptiometry; however, the effects are reproducible during repeat scans of an individual patient. Metal had the largest impact on whole-body bone mineral content, causing errors of 1.5%-3%.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Analysis of potential and free furfural compounds in milk-based formulae by high-performance liquid chromatography. Evolution during storage.

A simple and reproducible HPLC-diode array detection method for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of potential and free furfural compounds (5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde, HMF; 2-furaldehyde, F; 2-furyl methyl ketone, FMC; and 5-methyl-2-furaldehyde, MF) in milk-based formulae was developed and validated. The method showed good linearity with determination coefficients over 0.999. The limits of detection and quantification were acceptable for all furfurals. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for repeatability and reproducibility were <4.28. Recoveries in all furfurals were between 94.5 and 98.7%. In addition, we report the evolution over shelf life of furfural compound levels in an experimental powder formula for pregnant women stored at 25 and 37 degrees C from production until 15 months.

Animals↗

Validation of a new quantitative coronary angiography analysis system used to evaluate densitometric lumen remodelling.

Arterial lumen volume, determined by sequential coronary angiography, could have advantages over more commonly used variables (such as percent stenosis or minimal lumen diameter) as a primary endpoint in clinical trials evaluating post-angioplasty restenosis or atherosclerotic plaque progression. We validated a quantitative coronary angiography analysis (QCA) system aimed at measuring lumen volume from coronary angiography films by a densitometric method. Using images of polyacrylate models filled with different concentrations of contrast medium, accuracy (mean of the differences between known and measured values of a measurement) and precision (standard deviation of the difference) were lower than or equal to 0.09 and 0.21 mm, respectively, for diameters ranging from 1.5 to 16 mm. In terms of volume measurement, accuracy was 30.2 mm3 and precision 5.7 mm3 for a known volume of 620.2 mm3. To assess the short-term variations of lumen volume measurements under conditions resembling those encountered in clinical trials, a special image comparison program of the QCA system was used to measure the same coronary artery segment on two images taken 10 minutes apart in 21 patients. The mean difference between the two measurements was 1.7 +/- 12.4 mm3, with a coefficient of variation of 15%. An error of +/-2 frames in the selection of images to be analyzed had little influence on the results. We conclude that the QCA system provides easy-to-achieve standardization of the image acquisition process and sufficient reproducibility for repeated measurement of volume of a coronary artery segment, which can serve as the primary endpoint in clinical trials evaluating atherosclerotic plaque progression or restenosis after angioplasty.

Angioplasty↗

Reproducibility of magnetic resonance spectroscopy in patients undergoing dialysis and evaluation of the therapeutic response of tumors.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The reproducibility of repeated magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy was studied in patients undergoing dialysis and treatment of a variety of malignant tumors. METHODS: Localized MR spectra were obtained using a 1.5-T system by image-selected in vivo spectroscopy. Total metabolite signal was integrated between phosphomonoester and beta-adenosine triphosphate resonance. We termed this measurement AREA. RESULTS: Intrapatient variability was evaluated on repeated thigh muscle spectroscopy for 10 patients. Sequential spectra of 10 malignant tumors of the extremities were analyzed and compared with the histology of surgical specimens in seven patients. Intrapatient variability in AREA was calculated as 14.0%. The extent of necrosis and AREA ratio (definition: AREA post-therapy/AREA pretherapy) were as follows; 6.1% in > 90% necrosis, 43% in 50% to 90% necrosis, and 79% in < 50% necrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Localized MR spectra are fairly reproducible and may relate to treatment efficacy.

Adolescent↗

Exploring the third dimension in root resorption.

OBJECTIVE: To review and investigate the validity of various 2D quantitative measurement techniques, and to explore the third dimension of root resorption. DESIGN: A review of the literature involving various quantitative evaluation of root resorption. RESULTS: Quantitative evaluation of resorption using radiographs has proven to be highly inaccurate because of magnification errors and their inability to be readily repeated and reproduced. Studies using histology sections of samples have proven to be laborious and technique sensitive. Inherent parallax errors and loss of material in data transfer have denied the true understanding of this 3D event. CONCLUSION: With the evolution in computing technology and digital imaging, the vision of evaluating the extent of root resorption in 3D has materialized. It was demonstrated that 3D volumetric quantitative evaluation of root resorption craters was feasible and its accuracy and repeatability was high.

Humans↗

Reproducibility of Doppler ultrasound measurement of resistance index in renal allografts.

In recent years measurements of arterial blood flow in the renal allograft have been studied in an attempt to provide a non-invasive method of diagnosing and monitoring post-transplant renal dysfunction. Many studies have involved measurement of the resistance index (RI) of arterial blood flow. Although the reproducibility of the technique has been studied in other areas of application, no such studies have been performed on the renal allograft. In this study we attempted to evaluate the reproducibility of the measurement of the RI of the interlobar artery in the renal allograft. 18 renal allograft recipients with stable functioning grafts were studied twice by each of two experienced sonographers using a colour-coded duplex Doppler ultrasound scanner, in order to determine the intraobserver and interobserver variability in the measurement of RI of the interlobar arteries in the allograft. Variability was small and although interobserver variability exceeded intraobserver variability, both were within repeatability limits adopted by the British Standards Institution. The results suggest that measurement of the RI of the interlobar artery of renal allografts is repeatable and reproducible when performed by experienced operators.

Adult↗

Reliability, normative data, and the effect of age-related macular disease on the Eger Macular Stressometer photostress recovery time.

PURPOSE: To assess repeatability and reproducibility, to determine normative data, and to investigate the effect of age-related macular disease, compared with normals, on photostress recovery time measured using the Eger Macular Stressometer (EMS). METHOD: The study population comprised 49 healthy eyes of 49 participants. Four EMS measurements were taken in two sessions separated by 1 h by two practitioners, with reversal of order in the second session. EMS readings were also taken from 17 age-related maculopathy (ARM), and 12 age-related macular degeneration (AMD), affected eyes. RESULTS: EMS readings are repeatable to within +/-7 s. There is a statistically significant difference between controls and ARM affected eyes (t = 2.169, p = 0.045), and AMD affected eyes (t = 2.817, p = 0.016). The EMS is highly specific, and demonstrates sensitivity of 29% for ARM, and 50% for AMD. CONCLUSIONS: The EMS may be a useful screening test for ARM, however, direct illumination of the macula of greater intensity and longer duration may yield less variable results.

Adolescent↗

Application of a novel electrosynthesized polydopamine-imprinted film to the capacitive sensing of nicotine.

The application of novel electrosynthesized polydopamine (PDA)-imprinted film as a recognition element for the capacitive sensing of nicotine is reported. The PDA-imprinted film was electropolymerized directly on the gold electrode surface in the presence of nicotine without an additional self-assembled thiol sublayer. The compact PDA film has various functional groups that aid the imprinting procedure. Furthermore, the film shows good capacitive response since it is insulating in nature and ultrathin. The sensor's linear response range for nicotine was between 1-25 micromol L(-1), with a detection limit of 0.5 micromol L(-1). The proposed molecularly imprinted polymer capacitive (MIPC) sensor exhibited good selectivity for nicotine. The reproducibility and repeatability of the MIPC sensor were all found to be satisfactory. The results from sample analysis confirmed the applicability of the MIPC sensor to quantitative analysis.

Dopamine↗

Quantification of eosinophilic granule protein deposition in biopsies of inflammatory skin diseases by automated image analysis of highly sensitive immunostaining.

Eosinophilic granulocytes are major effector cells in inflammation. Extracellular deposition of toxic eosinophilic granule proteins (EGPs), but not the presence of intact eosinophils, is crucial for their functional effect in situ. As even recent morphometric approaches to quantify the involvement of eosinophils in inflammation have been only based on cell counting, we developed a new method for the cell-independent quantification of EGPs by image analysis of immunostaining. Highly sensitive, automated immunohistochemistry was done on paraffin sections of inflammatory skin diseases with 4 different primary antibodies against EGPs. Image analysis of immunostaining was performed by colour translation, linear combination and automated thresholding. Using strictly standardized protocols, the assay was proven to be specific and accurate concerning segmentation in 8916 fields of 520 sections, well reproducible in repeated measurements and reliable over 16 weeks observation time. The method may be valuable for the cell-independent segmentation of immunostaining in other applications as well.

Automation↗

Multicenter evaluation of ATB fungus: a standardized micromethod for yeast susceptibility testing.

The micromethod for yeast susceptibility testing, ATB Fungus, was evaluated with 30 reference strains in three laboratories. Ready-to-use strips with 5-fluorocytosine, amphotericin B, nystatin, miconazole, econazole and ketoconazole were used. The test allowed the categorization of each strain as susceptible, intermediate or resistance to all the antifungals tested, and 5-fluorocytosine and amphotericin B MIC determination. The results were compared with the MIC for each reference strain obtained by a microdilution method on RPMI 1640 buffered with MOPS. The repeatability and intralaboratory and interlaboratory reproducibility were evaluated. ATB Fungus was a reliable and reproducible method with a repeatability of 96.6%, a reproducibility of 95.4% and showed an excellent correlation 91.7%) with reference MICs.

Antifungal Agents↗

A novel approach to extract colon lumen from CT images for virtual colonoscopy.

An automatic method has been developed for segmentation of abdominal computed tomography (CT) images for virtual colonoscopy obtained after a bowel preparation of a low-residue diet with ingested contrast solutions to enhance the image intensities of residual colonic materials. Removal of the enhanced materials was performed electronically by a computer algorithm. The method is a multistage approach that employs a modified self-adaptive on-line vector quantization technique for a low-level image classification and utilizes a region-growing strategy for a high-level feature extraction. The low-level classification labels each voxel based on statistical analysis of its three-dimensional intensity vectors consisting of nearby voxels. The high-level processing extracts the labeled stool, fluid and air voxels within the colon, and eliminates bone and lung voxels which have similar image intensities as the enhanced materials and air, but are physically separated from the colon. This method was evaluated by volunteer studies based on both objective and subjective criteria. The validation demonstrated that the method has a high reproducibility and repeatability and a small error due to partial volume effect. As a result of this electronic colon cleansing, routine physical bowel cleansing prior to virtual colonoscopy may not be necessary.

Adult↗

Whitaker revisited.

Perfusion studies of the upper urinary tract have been associated (in our hands) with poor reproducibility during repeated studies carried out at the same sitting. In an attempt to overcome this, a fundamental modification of the Whitaker technique has been devised whereby, instead of measuring renal pelvis pressure during constant flow infusion, the flow rate has been measured during constant pressure infusion. The 2 techniques have been compared in a study carried out in normal ureters in anaesthetised dogs. The modified technique not only dispenses with the sophisticated equipment required for this test, but gives results which are more reproducible. In addition, it was noted that the modified technique allowed greater flow rates for given pressure measurements than was possible with the standard Whitaker test. It is thought that these findings are related to the effects of motor-driven syringe pumps, difficulty in data interpretation in some cases with Whitaker's test, and the stretch response of ureteric smooth muscle which may be excessively stimulated during the Whitaker test.

Animals↗

High performance liquid chromatography mobile phase composition optimization for the quantitative determination of a carboxylic acid compound in human plasma by negative ion electrospray high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.

A systematic investigation was undertaken to study the effects of varying concentrations of additives in the acetonitrile/water high performance liquid chromatography mobile phase, especially formic acid and ammonium formate, on the negative ion electrospray response of a carboxylic acid compound. The study showed that the response progressively decreased with increase in the formic acid concentration. While such a decrease in the response could be qualitatively explained by the decrease in the concentration of the ionized form of the carboxylic acid compound due to the lower pH of the mobile phase, the change in response was not as large as expected from the change of the concentration of the ionized form. The response also progressively decreased with increase in the ammonium formate concentration but the decrease cannot be explained by the change in the pH of the mobile phase. Although the best negative ion electrospray response was obtained with a water/acetonitrile mobile phase that contained no additives at all, the retention time of the analyte was not found to be adequately reproducible on repeated injections. Thus, this mobile phase was deemed unacceptable for practical, routine use. Comparing formic acid against ammonium formate, the former was preferable since it caused a smaller attenuation of the negative ion response. Equally important was the fact that addition of formic acid had the desirable effect of maintaining a reasonably high capacity factor (k') for the analyte even at a relatively high acetonitrile concentration. A concentration of 1 mM formic acid in the mobile phase was large enough to achieve the reproducible elongated retention time for the analyte, with a loss in the analyte response of about 60% only. It should be noted that the sensitivity achieved with the 1 mM formic acid mobile phase, in which the carboxylic acid is expected to be about 10% in the ionized form, is about 9 times better than the sensitivity achieved in the 1 mM ammonium formate mobile phase, in which the carboxylic acid is expected to be about 99% in the ionized form.

Carboxylic Acids↗

Accuracy of DNA amplification from archival hematological slides for use in genetic biomarker studies.

Archival slides are a potentially useful source of DNA for mutation analyses in large population-based studies. However, it is unknown whether specimen age or histological stains alter the accuracy of Taq polymerase or induce secondary mutations in sample DNA. To address this question, we evaluated five methods for extraction of genomic DNA from archival bone marrow slides of 17 leukemia patients and analyzed exons 1 and 2 of the N- and K-ras genes for the presence of mutations. Of the five methods, optimal DNA purification was achieved by boiling and phenol:chloroform extraction. N-and K-ras exons 1 and 2 were independently amplified using 35 cycles of PCR, and 6-12 clones for each exon were isolated and individually sequenced for each patient. Mutations were confirmed by repeat extraction, cloning, and sequencing. Sixteen of 17 patient samples were successfully amplified (94%), including slides up to 29 years old. Twelve slides had been stained with Wright-Giemsa, I stained with toluidine blue, and 4 were unstained. A total of 16 single-base mutations were identified of 33,840 nucleotides sequenced. No insertions or deletions were identified. Six of 16 single-base mutations were previously described activating mutations in codon 13 of N-ras exon 1. The 10 other mutations were in other regions of the N- and K-ras genes and were not reproduced after repeat extraction, cloning, and sequencing. The frequency of these other alterations was I of 3384 bp. This value is comparable with the inherent error frequency for Taq polymerase. Our findings suggest that high fidelity DNA amplification can be achieved using archival hematological slides as old as 29 years and can be reliably used in genetic analyses.

Archives↗