Computer-assisted Matching Research Articles

A note on a prototype system for simple computer-assisted matching of individually identified southern right whales, Eubalaena australis

A system using computer assistance in the matching of the callosity patterns of individual southern right whales is described. Whenprovided with a digitised representation of an individual whale’s callosity pattern, the prototype system produces a hierarchical output ofthe most similar patterns in the database with relatively high accuracy. A trial database of binary images of the callosity patterns of 165individually identified southern right whales was created. A further two replicates each of nine different individual whales within the trialdatabase, were then created by two different operators, producing a test set of 18 images. A software program, utilising a pattern recognitionalgorithm and incorporating a mouse driven user interface, was developed so that when provided with a binary bitmap of an individualwhale from the test set, the program compares it against a trial database of previously saved bitmaps and produces a hierarchical outputof the most similar whales, or nearest ‘matches’. For 15 of the 18 test images (83%), the system returned the correct whale as the top matchout of the 165 in the trial database. For the remaining three test images the correct whale was the second, sixth and sixteenth ranked whalein the trial database containing 165 whales. The program was successful in reducing the number of individuals required for manualcomparison to a small percentage of the total catalogue, with a high degree of accuracy, and with a significant associated time saving. Itis envisaged that the final matching will continue to be done visually by an experienced operator using the original photographs. Furtherrefinement of the system with the aim of streamlining and simplifying the input process and incorporating partial pattern recognition isintended.

Photometric Evaluation of Long-term Changes in Breast Shape after Breast Augmentation and Vertical Mammaplasty.

Background:Little information is presently available regarding the long-term effects of breast augmentation and mammaplasties on breast shape. Existing studies typically use 1-dimensional measurements and mean follow-up times seldom exceed 1 year.Methods:Twenty women were studied: breast augmentation (n = 5), mastopexy (n = 5), augmentation/mastopexy (n = 5), and breast reduction (n = 5). For mammaplasties, a vertical method using a medial pedicle and intraoperative nipple siting was used in all cases. A 2-dimensional measurement system was used, with computer-assisted matching of lateral photographs of the right and left breasts. Measurements were evaluated at 3 times: before surgery, 1 year after surgery, and 10 years after surgery.Results:Breast implants significantly increased breast projection and upper pole projection. The nipple level was unchanged. The lower pole level dropped. These changes were preserved at 10 years. Vertical mastopexy provided a modest increment in breast projection and upper pole projection. The nipple level and lower pole level were raised significantly. Augmentation/mastopexy boosted breast projection and upper pole projection, and also elevated the nipple and lower pole level. Breast reduction changes were similar to mastopexy, but with greater elevation of nipple level and lower pole level, which were usually lower to start with. Implants increased upper pole convexity. Nipple overelevation was avoided by intraoperative nipple siting just below the breast apex.Conclusions:These measurements provide new information regarding the long-term effects of breast augmentation and vertical mammaplasties. This information may be used by plastic surgeons in procedure selection and patient counseling.

Clip or Snap? An Evaluation of Toe-Clipping and Photo-Identification Methods for Identifying Individual Southern Red-Bellied Toads,Melanophryniscus cambaraensis

4 Corresponding author. ABSTRACT. The most common method for identifying individual amphibians is toe-clipping (TC), whereby captured individuals are marked by a unique combination of amputated phalanges that corresponds to a unique alphanumeric code. However, ethical and methodological objections to this method have been raised and there is broad interest in developing alternative methods. One alternative is to use photo-identification methods (PIMs) to identify individuals based on their natural markings. We tested the ef- ficacy of TC and two PIMs — visual matching (VM) and computer-assisted matching (CAM) using the software Wild-ID — in identifying individual adults of the endangered southern red-bellied toad, Melanophryniscus cambaraensis. We collected data over 5 mo at Floresta Nacional de Sao Francisco de Paula, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. All specimens were toe-clipped and photographed. The total dataset included 492 captures of 147 individuals. VM was most accurate (99.4%), followed by TC (95.3%) and CAM (90.9%); VM was significantly more accurate than TC and CAM and TC was significantly more accurate than CAM. CAM ac- curacy diminished as dataset size increased but was considerably faster than VM. All CAM and VM errors were false negatives but involved different images; all TC errors were cross-identifications. Given that misidentifications occurred using both PIMs and TC, our results suggest that studies that require high accuracy should employ at least two methods to allow cross-validation. The performance of each method and the impacts of different kinds and rates of error on inferences depend on the organisms, field conditions, dataset sizes, and study questions. As such, researchers must carefully evaluate the trade-offs of each method before investing significant time and resources in collecting field data.

Semiautomated typing of human papillomaviruses by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of fluorescence-labeled PCR fragments

A simplified version of a PCR-based reductional restriction fragment length polymorphism (rRFLP) approach for typing of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) is described previously [Wang et al., 1997]. It is achieved by the use of a biotin-labeled primer in PCR which, on restriction digestion and staining, is associated with only a single restriction fragment. In this report, we describe a further development of the rRFLP approach with the use of a fluorescence-labeled primer in PCR and fragment detection by laser scanning in an automatic sequencer. HPV typing is achieved by computer-assisted matching of the fluorescence-labeled rRFLP patterns with a database of rRFLP patterns of all known anogenital HPV types. On analysis of the typing of 133 HPV-positive cases using this procedure, 20 different HPV types were detected in exfoliated cervical cells in PAP smear samples derived from Taiwanese women. The results indicate the existence of a heterogeneous population of HPV types in Taiwan. Although most cases were associated with the more common HPV types, a significant fraction (about 20%) of the HPV types detected was related to the less common genotypes, which are often not included in commercial kits available for HPV typing. The results indicate the importance of covering as many HPV types as possible in clinical HPV genotyping protocols.

Comparison of the Student/Site Computer Matching Program and Manual Matching of Physical Therapy Students in Clinical Education

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of the newly developed Student/Site Computer-Assisted Matching Program (SSCAMP) from the American Physical Therapy Association with the results of a manual student matching program used in a physical therapist program. The author hypothesized that the computer-assisted matching program would reduce the time for matching of students and that the matches would not be significantly different than those done with the manual matching method. One class of first-year professional (entry-level) physical therapist students were matched using both the new SSCAMP and the previously utilized manual matching method. Comparisons were made between the manual matching method and the computer-assisted matching process for time expenditures used in the matching process and for differences in successful student matches. Time expenditures (in hours), frequency distributions, and percentages of successful matches are reported, as well as a chi-square statistic to compare the differences in successful matches between the two methods. The author's results suggest that there was no significant difference between the computermatched site assignments and the manual method site assignments. Less time was used for the computer-assisted matching method. The author also observed anecdotally that students adopted a more self-directed style for decision making about their clinical placements. Because there was a time reduction for student placements and because the matches were similar under both methods, the computer-assisted matching will be the method of choice for student/clinical site matching at this physical therapist program. INTRODUCTION The process of student clinical assignment in a physical therapy program has traditionally involved many task hours for the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education (ACCE) or the Director of Clinical Education (DCE) for hand-matching of students to available clinical sites. With the increase in student enrollment, limited time of the ACCE/DCE because of other faculty responsibilities, and time spent soliciting site placements from many facilities, the time to complete this large task has increased. With an increase in the number of physical therapy programs, there have been increased demands to streamline the placement process so that clinical sites have information on their student placements more quickly. Time is, therefore, a key issue in both the placement process and the communication of this information to the clinical sites. In addition to the time issues, the process of hand-matching students to clinical sites is subjective and may be guided by preconceived ideas about a student by the ACCE/DCE. Because the matching process has primarily been done by the ACCE/DCE, reviewing students' preferences and then matching those preferences to site availability, there are concerns of bias toward certain students and fairness about placements. The manual matching process puts the ultimate control for site placement with the ACCE/DCE and tends to foster a more passive participation by the student in this placement process. With a shift of degree levels to master's degree and professional (entry-level) doctorate, the age of students in today's physical therapy programs has increased, with an increased focus on adult learning. A physical therapy program may choose to foster more self-directed learning and increased responsibility for aspects of professional development. Shifting from a manual matching process to another method of placement that puts an increased responsibility on students for their clinical site selections would foster these concepts. A greater number of education programs, as well as students, now have knowledge about and access to computer technology. Professional education programs may have computer laboratory space available for student use, and many students now utilize various computer software programs with ease. …

An evaluation of the utility of four in vitro short term tests for predicting the cytotoxicity of individual compounds derived from tobacco smoke.

An evaluation of results obtained earlier and now complemented to provide information on the activity of 305 compounds in four in vitro tests has been undertaken. Biological data based on the effects of these compounds on cell multiplication, oxidative metabolism, ciliary activity and membrane permeability are compared with a view to clarifying intersystem similarities and differences and, on the basis of a mean activity parameter, evaluating structure-activity and functionality-activity relationships. High mean activity is observed for 59 compounds, of which 18 are phenols, 14 aldehydes, 8 N-heterocyclics, 7 alcohols and 5 hydrocarbons. The medium and low mean activity groups comprise 105 and 131 members, respectively, and both include representatives of all functionalities examined. Delineation of the 305 compounds using 45 descriptors, and computer-assisted matching of these and any combination of them against the mean activity showed the most toxic single descriptor group to be terpenoids followed by indoles and naphthalenes, and the most toxic two-descriptor group to be alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyls followed by n-alkyl alcohols, aldehydes and acids. Examination of intersystem similarities and differences, using a high-medium-low scale, shows that all four systems give the same result for 35 percent of the compounds, three systems for 41 to 48 percent of the compounds, and two systems for 53 and 64 percent of the compounds. Of all compounds, 16 percent exhibit a high activity in one system and a low activity in the other three, or vice versa. Nearly half of these discrepancies are caused by the membrane permeability system showing diverging results, while none of them are related to the brown fat cell system. The last test system is found to best represent the mean activity obtained from the four systems and the one of choice if reducing the number of tests from four to one.

Association between reported diet and all-cause mortality. Twenty-one-year follow-up on 27,530 adult Seventh-Day Adventists.

This report examines the association between mortality from all causes during a 21-year period and frequency of consumption of 28 specific foods among 27,530 adult California members of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Food consumption was measured at the beginning of the study (1960) by a self-administered questionnaire. Deaths were identified by computer-assisted matching of study subjects to the file of death certificates for all deaths that occurred in California during 1960-1980. All-cause mortality showed a significant negative association with green salad consumption and a significant positive association with consumption of eggs and meat. For green salad and eggs, the association was stronger for women; for meat, the association was stronger for men. All the observed associations were adjusted for age, sex, smoking history, history of major chronic disease, and age at initial exposure to the Adventist Church.