Different Methods Of Measurement Research Articles

Comparison of four methods to -determine cage width in tibial tuberosity advancement.

The objective of this study was to test a method for determining the width of the tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) cage without the need for extension of the stifle joint, while producing preoperative radiographs. TTA cage size was determined by applying 4 different methods using radiograph images in mediolateral direction of fully extended stifles of dogs (n=43), with and without naturally occurring cranial cruciate ligament disease: parallel shift (PS) method, common tangent (CT) method, «2,1» method (cage size = 2,1 × tibia plateau length - tibial tuberosity width), and margo cranialis (MC) method (cage size = length of MC/6*1,75). Two new methods, «2,1», and MC were compared to the existing CT and PS methods. All 4 methods resulted in reliable cage sizes. Intraclass correlation coefficients showed an excellent reliability of the CT and PS to the «2,1» method and a good reliability in regards to the MC method. In conclusion, TTA cage size of the tibia anatomy alone can be determined on radiographs without the need of full extension of the stifle joint. Based on the results, two different methods of cage size measurement are recommended in order to increase diagnostic accuracy and to prevent the insertion of suboptimal cages.

Laboratory assessment in ABO-incompatible renal transplant

Background: In ABO-incompatible renal transplants, reliable ABO antibody titre measurements are crucial in managing humeral rejection and graft failure. There is a paucity of published studies comparing the different laboratory methods of pre-transplant ABO antibody titre measurement.

Overview Of Measurement And Evaluation Methods Of Wind Farm And System Inertia Under Large-scale Wind Power Grid Connection

With the large-scale development of new energy, large-scale wind power is incorporated into the power grid, the inertia level of the power system continues to decrease, the system regulation ability continues to weaken, and the system stability is seriously challenged. The evaluation of inertia has become a hot research issue for scholars. Firstly, this paper introduces the basic concept and components of power system inertia. Then, the different methods of inertia measurement and evaluation of wind farm and power system are reviewed. Finally, the future research directions in the field of power system inertia evaluation are summarized.

Update on the applications and limitations of alpha-fetoprotein for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is an oncofetal glycoprotein that has been used as a tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in combination with ultrasound and other imaging modalities. Its utility is limited because of both low sensitivity and specificity, and discrepancies among the different methods of measurements. Moreover, its accuracy varies according to patient characteristics and the AFP cut-off values used. Combination of AFP with novel biomarkers such as AFP-L3, Golgi specific membrane protein (GP73) and des-gamma-carboxyprothrombin significantly improved its accuracy in detecting HCC. Increased AFP level could also signify severity of hepatic destruction and subsequent regeneration and is commonly observed in patients with acute and chronic liver conditions and cirrhosis. Hereditary and other non-hepatic disorders can also cause AFP elevation.

The role of the audit committee in accounting and finance expertise on earnings quality

This study aims at examining the effect of the audit committee with accounting and finance expertise on the earnings quality of manufacturing companies in Indonesia. The earnings quality measurement uses the absolute value of discretionary accrual. This study uses three measurements of discretionary accruals, the Jones model (Jones, 1991), the modified Jones (Dechow, Sloan, & Sweeney, 1995), and the Kasznik models (Kasznik, 1999). Further, the current study refers to Badolato, Donelson, and Ege (2014) to identify the audit committee expertise. The data were collected from the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) between 2015 and 2017 with 331 observations. The results showed that audit committees’ characteristics with both accounting and finance expertise have a negative effect on discretionary accrual. Thus, audit committees’ members with both accounting and finance expertise have reduced the level of discretionary accruals. The result is consistent using three measurements of discretionary accruals. Therefore, the audit committee members with both accounting and finance expertise have a positive effect on improving the quality of firms’ earnings. Our result is robust to different methods of discretionary accrual measurement. This study may be very helpful for those audit committees seeking to improve their composition and way of working. In other words, the findings of this study are potentially relevant to both audit committees and policy-makers

Evolution of Middle Ear Modelling Techniques: A Review.

This review article attempts to analyze the various research studies conducted in developing the models to evaluate the anatomy of the middle ear, its biomechanics, and the applications of these models in normal and diseased states.Various studies conducted over the past 50-60 years have been critically analyzed. We also discuss the various advantages and disadvantages of different methods of measurement of middle ear parameters. Beginning from anatomical modelling to histopathological sections and the latest three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction with finite element modelling, various methods of middle ear measurements have been critically analyzed.At the end of this review, we have concluded that the best and most effective method of middle ear modelling is the 3D reconstruction using high-resolution computed tomography and finite element modelling.

Evaluation of intraventricular flow by multimodality imaging: a review and meta-analysis

BackgroundThe aim of this systematic review was to evaluate current inter-modality agreement of noninvasive clinical intraventricular flow (IVF) assessment with 3 emerging imaging modalities: echocardiographic particle image velocimetry (EPIV), vector flow mapping (VFM), and 4-dimensional flow cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (4D flow CMR).MethodsWe performed a systematic literature review in the databases EMBASE, Medline OVID and Cochrane Central for identification of studies evaluating left ventricular (LV) flow patterns using one of these flow visualization modalities. Of the 2224 initially retrieved records, 10 EPIV, 23 VFM, and 25 4D flow CMR studies were included in the final analysis.ResultsVortex parameters were more extensively studied with EPIV, while LV energetics and LV transport mechanics were mainly studied with 4D flow CMR, and LV energy loss and vortex circulation were implemented by VFM studies. Pooled normative values are provided for these parameters. The meta- analysis for the values of two vortex morphology parameters, vortex length and vortex depth, failed to reveal a significant change between heart failure patients and healthy controls.ConclusionAgreement between the different modalities studying intraventricular flow is low and different methods of measurement and reporting were used among studies. A multimodality framework with a standardized set of flow parameters is necessary for implementation of noninvasive flow visualization in daily clinical practice. The full potential of noninvasive flow visualization in addition to diagnostics could also include guiding medical or interventional treatment.

Оцінка вимірювання pH водного розчину та електролітними методами в окультурених ґрунтах Непалу

Soil pH is most routinely measured parameter among all others in soil chemistry laboratory. There are various methods developed for pH measurement, although we using only distilled water from the beginning. In Nepal, there do not have database for showing performance of the methods. The three methods namely; H2O, KCl and CaCl2 with their soil:solution ratios (1:1, 1:2 and 1:2.5) were used. The total 115 samples were collected randomly at a depth of 0-20 cm from the hill and terai regions of Nepal. The collected samples were analyzed following mentioned methods, separately. The various statistical tests (F-test, mean separation, correlation, and regression model) were performed for comparison. Moreover, model validation parameters were also calculated for relating H2O with electrolyte method. The three models linear, quadratic and cubic were used for this task. The result revealed the effect of methods on pH measurement was significantly different in the entire ratio. The pHH2O was 0.57, 0.56 and 0.67 units higher than pHCaCl2 in 1:1, 1:2 and 1:2.5 ratios, respectively. Whereas, 1.24, 0.99 and 0.95 units higher than pHKCl in respective ratio. Moreover, regarding timing to reach stable during measurement were in the order pHH2O (89.44 sec) > pHCaCl2 (54.29 sec) > pHKCl (33.08 sec). Similarly, relating modeling quadratic and cubic model showed nearly equal performance (lower RMSE, MAE and higher R2 and d) for predicting pHCaCl2 and pHKCl from the pHH2O in each soil solution ratio. The determined database can be useful for comparing used three different methods of soil pH measurement under Nepalese context.

Mechanisms of Neutralizing Anti-drug Antibody Formation and Clinical Relevance on Therapeutic Efficacy of Enzyme Replacement Therapies in Fabry Disease.

Fabry disease (FD) is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the α-galactosidase A (AGAL/GLA) gene. The lysosomal accumulation of the substrates globotriaosylceramide (Gb3) and globotriaosylsphingosine (lyso-Gb3) results in progressive renal failure, cardiomyopathy associated with cardiac arrhythmia, and recurrent strokes, significantly limiting life expectancy in affected patients. Current treatment options for FD include recombinant enzyme-replacement therapies (ERTs) with intravenous agalsidase-α (0.2 mg/kg body weight) or agalsidase-β (1 mg/kg body weight) every 2 weeks, facilitating cellular Gb3 clearance and an overall improvement of disease burden. However, ERT can lead to infusion-associated reactions, as well as the formation of neutralizing anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) in ERT-treated males, leading to an attenuation of therapy efficacy and thus disease progression. In this narrative review, we provide a brief overview of the clinical picture of FD and diagnostic confirmation. The focus is on the biochemical and clinical significance of neutralizing ADAs as a humoral response to ERT. In addition, we provide an overview of different methods for ADA measurement and characterization, as well as potential therapeutic approaches to prevent or eliminate ADAs in affected patients, which is representative for other ERT-treated lysosomal storage diseases.

Influence of variability in hygrothermal properties on analytical results of simultaneous heat and moisture transfer in porous materials

Depending on the data source used, the material hygrothermal properties that are used in the numerical analysis of simultaneous heat and moisture transfer will not be consistent. Differences in measurement methods and the individuality of specimens account for this. It is necessary to choose values from these different physical property sets to conduct a numerical calculation, which can cause the calculated results to differ. The subsequent range of variation in the calculated results should be quantitatively evaluated. In this study, the physical properties of several types of porous building materials were first gathered from four databases. The data were then categorized based on the kind of material and compared in terms of each physical property (density, porosity, specific heat, moisture capacity, thermal conductivity, and vapor permeability). The density, porosity, and specific heat varied by 10% on average, and the moisture capacity, thermal conductivity, and vapor permeability varied by 20% or more for all types of materials. In particular, the vapor permeability of plywood and moisture capacity of gypsum board differed by 50%. The influence that these physical property value variations had on hygrothermal calculation results was then quantitatively demonstrated for moisture and heat flow rate under a step change in the relative humidity or temperature of indoor air for a single layer wall. The moisture and heat flow rate into a single layer wall fluctuated by approximately 10%–40% due to differences in the vapor permeability and moisture capacity of the materials. For all types of materials, moisture was transferred more slowly than heat. Therefore, differences in moisture property values, such as vapor permeability and moisture capacity, influenced the results more significantly. Moreover, the moisture flow was accompanied by a phase change. The differences in moisture property values thus affected the heat flow.

Temperature Difference Measurement of Metal Surfaces at Normal Temperatures Under Sunlight by Differential Chromatic Features of Visible Images

The temperature of metal surfaces at normal temperatures under sunlight can be measured by combining visible images with machine learning (ML). But this method is susceptible to illumination conditions, which causes large errors. To solve this problem, a method of temperature difference measurement based on visible images’ differential chromatic features (DCFs) between two metal surfaces, which are at different temperatures but the same illumination, is proposed in this paper. Through experiments, temperature difference image libraries of brass surfaces under varying illumination are established. DCFs of each image are extracted, and temperature difference between two surfaces is used as the label. Models that can predict the temperature difference between two surfaces are trained by ML. Prediction results show that the mean absolute error of this temperature difference measurement method can be as low as 1.6, decreasing by 42% at most compared with those of simply measuring the surface temperature. The effect of temperature and illumination on visible images’ gray levels is analyzed. And it is concluded that the introduction of a temperature-constant surface provides a reference item for illumination, which helps to weaken the influence of illumination changes and filter out the interference caused by them. This is why the prediction accuracy can be improved by the temperature difference measurement method.

Measurement of capillary refill time with a handheld prototype device: a comparative validation study in healthy volunteers.

Validity and reproducibility of clinical capillary refill time (CRT) measurement depend on many factors in daily routine practice. We conducted a prospective validation study of an automatized handheld prototype device providing standardized CRT assessment (DiCART™) in 20 healthy volunteers. Three different methods of CRT measurement were compared before and during dynamic circulatory changes induced by venous and arterial occlusion tests at both upper and lower limb levels: CRTCLIN corresponding to basic clinical assessment and considered as the reference method; CRTVIDEO corresponding to off-line videos reviewed by investigators recorded by DiCART™; and CRTDiCART corresponding to on-line videos analysed by a built-in proprietary mathematical algorithm included in DiCART™. Five subjects were excluded because of a DiCART™ dysfunction. ROCAUC to detect arterial occlusion test changes at the upper limb level were 1.00 (95%CI 1.00; 1.00), 0.96 (95%CI 0.88; 1.00), and 0.92 (95%CI 0.79; 1.00) for CRTCLIN, CRTVIDEO, and CRTDiCART, respectively. Precision of CRTCLIN and CRTVIDEO were significantly better than CRTDiCART (0.18 and 0.20 vs. 0.28; P < 0.05). Percentages of error were 76% and 87% for CRTVIDEO and CRTDiCART, respectively. DiCART™ had an excellent discrimination to detect major changes in CRT induced by arterial ischemia. However, the perfectible precision, the poor agreement with clinical assessment and numerous device dysfunctions give leads to the development of a further version of the prototype before promoting its use in clinical practice.Trial registration clinicaltrial.gov. Identifier: NCT04538612.

Two senses of human limb position: methods of measurement and roles in proprioception

The sense of position of the body and its limbs is a proprioceptive sense. Proprioceptors are concerned with monitoring the body's own actions. Position sense is important because it is believed to contribute to our self-awareness. This review discusses recent developments in the debate about the sources of peripheral afferent signals contributing to position sense and describes different methods of measurement of position sense under conditions where vision does not participate. These include pointing to or verbal reporting of the perceived position of a hidden body part, alignment of one body part with the perceived position of another, or using memory-based repositioning tasks. The evidence suggests that there are at least two different mechanisms involved in the generation of position sense, mechanisms using different central processing pathways. The principal sensory receptor responsible for position sense is believed to be the muscle spindle. One criterion for identifying mechanism is whether position sense can be manipulated by controlled changes in spindle discharge rates. Position sense measured in two-limb matching is altered in a predictable way by such changes, while values for pointing and verbal reporting remain unresponsive. It is proposed that in two-limb matching the sensation generated is limb position in postural space. In pointing or verbal reporting, information is provided about limb position in extrapersonal space. Here vision is believed to play a role. The evidence suggests that we are aware, at the same time, of sensations of limb position in postural space as well as in extrapersonal space.

High-Resolution Multi-Channel Frequency Standard Comparator Using Digital Frequency Measurement.

The rapid improvement accuracy of the atomic frequency standard puts forward higher requirements for the measurement resolution of the atomic frequency standard comparison system. To overcome the defect that the single zero-crossing point detection is sensitive to noise in the traditional dual mixer time difference measurement method, a digital frequency measurement method is proposed. This method combines sinusoidal beat technology, multi-channel synchronous acquisition technology, and digital frequency measurement technology, and uses differential compensation of system error to realize the precision measurement of atomic frequency standard. The frequency measurement accuracy is less than 2.5 × 10−14 and the noise floor is better than 6.5 × 10−15/τ = 1 s. The system has a high frequency measurement accuracy and a low noise floor, which can realize the precise measurement of a highly stable frequency source.

From Frequency Domain to Time Transient Methods for Halide Perovskite Solar Cells: The Connections of IMPS, IMVS, TPC, and TPV.

The correlation of different methods of measurement can become an important tool to identify the dominant physical elements that govern the electronic and ionic dynamics in perovskite solar cells. The diverse phenomena underlying the response of halide perovskite materials to different stimuli are reflected in time-domain measurements, where transients appear with time scales spanning orders of magnitude, from nanoseconds to hours. We discuss the connection between different frequency- and time-domain methods to probe the voltage and current response of halide perovskite solar cells to different small perturbations. To solve the frequency-to-time transformation, we start from models of the transfer function of intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy (IMPS) and derive the associated impulse response function, the transient photocurrent (TPC), in response to a short light pulse. Similarly, we determine the transient photovoltage (TPV) starting from the intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy (IMVS) transfer function. We also discuss the open-circuit voltage decays (OCVD). We first show the response of simple equivalent circuit models, and then we treat the full model for generation–diffusion–recombination of electrons that shows a spiraling loop in IMPS. This model gives rise to overshoots in the time domain.

The Comparison Features of ECG Signal with Different Sampling Frequencies and Filter Methods for Real-Time Measurement

Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals have been used to monitor and diagnose signs of cardiovascular disease and abnormal signals about the human body. ECG signals are typically characterized by the PR, QRS, QT interval, ST-segment, and heart rate (HR) parameters. ECG devices are widely used for many applications, especially for the elderly. However, ECG signals are often affected by noises from the environment. There are mainly two types of noises that affect the ECG signals: low frequencies from muscle activity and 50/60 Hz from the electrical grid. Removing these noises is important for improving the quality of the ECG signal. A clear ECG signal makes it easy to diagnose cardiovascular problems. ECG signals with high sampling frequency are more accurate. However, the noises in the signal will be more obvious and it will be difficult to remove these noises with filters. We analyzed the symmetrical correlation between the sampling frequency of the signal and the parameters of the signal such as signal to noise ratio (SNR) and signal amplitude. This study will compare characterization of ECG signals performed at different sampling frequencies before and after applying infinite impulse response (IIR) and symmetric finite impulse response (FIR) filters. Therefore, it is critical that the sampling frequency is consistent at the same frequency of the ECG signal for accurate diagnosis. Furthermore, the approach can be also important for the device to help reduce the device’s computing power and hardware resources. Our results were tested with the MIT/ BIH database at 360 Hz sampling frequency with 11-bit resolution. We also experimented with the device operating in real-time with a sampling frequency from 100 Hz to 2133 Hz and a 24-bit resolution. The test results show the advantages of the symmetric FIR filter over IIR when applied to the filtering of ECG signals. The study’s conclusions can be applied to real-world devices to improve the quality of ECG signals.

New Approaches in Characterization of Lesions Dissemination in DLBCL Patients on Baseline PET/CT.

Simple SummaryRecently, a new PET parameter expressing lymphoma dissemination has been proposed to identify high-risk DLBCL patients: the distance between the two furthest lesions, standardized by body surface area (SDmax). This study aimed to determine the best way to measure the distance between lesions, by comparing different methods of distance measurements. We obtained similar results in terms of prediction of outcome between the different methods further validating the relevance of the dissemination features. We highlighted the possibility to calculate it directly from lymphoma voxels instead of lesion centroids, and thus applied it to a metabolic tumor volume (MTV) determined by deep learning algorithms. This could allow the use in clinical practice of this parameter, characterizing tumor spread, in combination with the tumor burden, for patient risk stratification. Dissemination, expressed recently by the largest Euclidian distance between lymphoma sites (SDmax), appeared a promising risk factor in DLBCL patients. We investigated alternative distance metrics to characterize the robustness of the dissemination information. In 290 patients from the REMARC trial (NCT01122472), the Euclidean (Euc), Manhattan (Man), and Tchebychev (Tch) distances between the furthest lesions, firstly based on the centroid of each lesion and then directly from the two most distant tumor voxels and the Travelling Salesman Problem distance (TSP) were calculated. For PFS, the areas under the ROC curves were between 0.63 and 0.64, and between 0.62 and 0.65 for OS. Patients with high SDmax whatever the method of calculation or high SD_TSP had a significantly poorer outcome than patients with low SDmax or SD_TSP (p < 0.001 for both PFS and OS), with significance maintained in Ann Arbor advanced-stage patients. In multivariate analysis with total metabolic tumor volume and ECOG, each distance feature had an independent prognostic value for PFS. For OS, only SDmax_Tch, SDmax_Euc _Vox, and SDmax_Man _Vox reached significance. The spread of DLBCL lesions measured by the largest distance between lymphoma sites is a strong independent prognostic factor and could be measured directly from tumor voxels, allowing its development in the area of the deep learning segmentation methods.

Review of high temperature measurement technology based on sapphire optical fiber

A review is presented on high temperature measurement technology based on sapphire optical fiber. This review paper focuses on the sensing theory, sensor structures and sensing performances of different sapphire fiber sensors. Firstly, there is discussion on pyrometer made from sapphire fiber and description on its corresponding sensing properties. Secondly, there are summary on sapphire fiber Bragg grating (SFBG) inscribed by different methods for high temperature measurement. Thirdly, there are analysis on sapphire fiber sensors based on Fabry Perot (FP) interference with different structures. All above, subsequently, lead to the discussion on microwave interferometry and Raman scattering-based sapphire fiber sensors. Then a sensing performance comparison of sapphire pyrometers based on different detection principles are discussed. On the premise of all above, a future prospect and development trend of high-temperature sapphire fiber sensor are addressed as well.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D measurement: Comparative evaluation of three automated immunoassays

Objectives: the different analytical methods for measurement of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) are not yet fully harmonized and no consensus exists on a threshold of 25(OH)D defining a deficiency status. In this study, we compared the results from the assays of serum 25(OH)D performed with three different methods to evaluate the presence of potential biases and how much these biases can influence the assignment of patients to specific 25(OH)D deficiency/sufficiency categories. Design and Methods: Liaison 25(OH) Vitamin D Total (DiaSorin Liaison XL), Elecsys Vitamin D Total II (Roche Elecsys) and Lumipulse G25(OH) Vitamin D (Fujirebio Lumipulse G1200) were used. Methods comparability was established performing Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman analysis to prove whether the differences found were lower than the preliminarily pre-established maximum acceptable bias. Results: all Passing-Bablok regressions exhibited the presence of a proportional and constant systematic error. Bland-Altman analysis revealed biases well above the maximum acceptable bias, so the 25(OH)D concentrations measured were not comparable. To evaluate whether the three methods had the same ability to classify patients into different categories of vitamin D levels, we categorized results obtained by each method in reference classes. Lumipulse categorized most patients into the class with the lowest 25(OH)D concentrations (<20 ng/mL) whereas Elecsys ranked the lowest number. Conclusions: Liaison XL and Elecsys have shown good accuracy compared to Lumipulse in measuring 25(OH)D levels. Nevertheless, the assays were not interchangeable due to the lack of comparability of results as well as to the disagreement in classification of hormone deficiency or sufficiency.

Validation study of canine serum cortisol measurement with the Immulite 2000 Xpi cortisol immunoassay.

We report the results of validation of canine serum cortisol determination with the Immulite 2000 Xpi cortisol immunoassay (Siemens), with characterization of precision (CV), accuracy (spiking-recovery [SR] bias), and observed total error (TEo = bias + 2CV) across the reportable range, specifically at the most common interpretation thresholds for dynamic testing. Imprecision increased at increasing rate with decreasing serum cortisol concentration and bias was low, resulting in increasing TEo with decreasing serum cortisol concentration. Inter-laboratory comparison study allowed for determination of range-based bias (RB) and average bias (AB). At 38.6 and 552 nmol/L (1.4 and 20 μg/dL), between-run CV was 10% and 7.5%, respectively, and TEo ~30% and ~20%, respectively (TEo remained similar regardless of the considered bias: SR, RB, or AB). These analytical performance parameters should be considered in the interpretation of results and for future expert consensus discussions to determine recommendations for allowable total error (TEa). Importantly, the commonly used thresholds for interpretation of results were determined ~40 y ago with different methods of measurements and computation, hence updating is desirable. Quality control material (QCM) had between-run imprecision of 4% for QCM1 and 7% for QCM2; the bias was minimal for both levels. Acceptable QC rules are heavily dependent on the desired TEa for the QCM system (TEaQCM), itself limited by the desired clinical TEa. At low TEaQCM (20-33%), almost no rules were acceptable, whereas at high TEaQCM (50%), almost all rules were acceptable; further investigation is needed to determine which TEaQCM can be guaranteed by simple QC rules.