High-quality Measurements Research Articles

New reference charts for fetal ultrasound corpus callosum length with emphasis on the third trimester

ObjectivesTo provide new prospective 2D ultrasound reference charts of fetal corpus callosum (CC) length on a large sample size with emphasis on the third trimester of pregnancy and to establish other standards of CC growth evaluation (external cranial occipitofrontal dimension (ECOFD) / CC length ratio and head circumference (HC) / CC length ratio) in a large population of healthy fetuses. MethodsA prospective observational study was conducted in a single expert center for fetal ultrasound between November 1st 2021 and June 30th 2022. CC measurement was performed in all fetuses examined between 17 weeks and 36+6 weeks. Image quality criteria for a strict mid-sagittal plane of the fetal brain and caliper position for CC measurement were defined prior to data collection and only high-quality measurements were included for analysis. Fetuses with inaccurate gestational ages and at high-risk of central nervous system anomalies were excluded. ResultsAmong 3591 CC measurements available, 3191 were included in this study. An accurate high-quality measurement was obtained in 92.8 % of cases. We established the third-degree polynomial model expressing the length of the corpus callosum as a function of Corpus callosum length in mm=0.00213x(GA in weeks)3 − 0.2538x(GA in weeks)2 + 10.5897xGA in weeks −108.8556 +/- SD (SD=0.0567xGA In weeks + 0.1054), with an R² adj of 0.94. ECOFD/CC and HC/CC ratios were stable throughout pregnancy at 2.7 ± 0.2 and 7.7 ± 0.6 respectively. ConclusionThese new reference charts were established using a uniform methodology of the highest quality in order to assess CC growth accurately and help clinicians correctly define a “short” CC. ECOFD/CC and HC/CC ratios may be used as additional markers of normal CC development in borderline cases.

A comparison of linear and nonlinear 3D semi-Lagrangian motion of moored Waverider and Spotter wave buoys

Wave records from oceanographic buoys remain indispensable in coastal and offshore engineering. Modern wave buoys produce semi-Lagrangian time histories of motions in three dimensions (one vertical and two horizontal) in addition to the standard statistical output. Datawell Directional Waverider (DWR) buoys have long been recognized as providing high quality measurements, while other types of wave buoys have been introduced more recently. This study analyses field data measured by two types of wave buoys: one DWR4 and three Sofar Spotter buoys, all moored on intermediate water depth offshore Western Australia. The time histories recorded by the two types of wave buoys in three orthogonal directions and the relationship between them are comprehensively examined on a wave-by-wave basis. Although focusing on mild sea states, the analysis identifies significant second-order motion components in the horizontal plane for both DWR4 and Spotter buoys. It is confirmed that both DWR and Spotters work well and consistently in the vertical direction. However, we present considerable evidence that the DWR4 buoy overestimates the displacements in the horizontal plane by a factor of approximately 1/0.85 times, while the Spotter buoys’ displacements match well with theoretical predictions in the horizontal plane. Despite this apparent calibration error, both the mean wave direction and the directional spreading match well between the two buoy types, with the DWR4 giving slightly lower spreading angles at higher frequency. These observations shed new insights into the wave buoy motions in 3D on intermediate water depth.

Binocular composite grayscale fringe projection profilometry based on deep learning for single-shot 3D measurements

The efficiency and precision of 3D shape reconstruction has been a focus in the fringe projection profilometry (FPP). However, achieving high-quality 3D measurement for isolated or overlapping objects from single fringe image is still a challenging task in the field. In this paper, a binocular composite grayscale fringe projection profilometry (BCGFPP) based on deep learning is proposed, in which a two-stage one-to-three network (TONet) is trained to predict the images required for phase unwrapping. The obtained absolute phase map exhibits high precision and eliminates deviation error and periodic ambiguity typically encountered in traditional sinusoidal composite fringe coding scheme. Haar transform principle is employed to form a Haar-like composite fringe pattern (HCFP), which consists of three different frequencies, serving as the input. TONet architecture is designed to predict images required by the tri-frequency four-step phase-shifting method (TFPM). Further, the absolute phase is calculated and the disparity map is obtained by matching the absolute phase of the left and right cameras. Finally, the 3D shape of the object can be restored by the system calibration parameters. Experimental results demonstrate the approach can greatly reduce the number of fringes required and achieve the accuracy of the absolute phase close to the training set.

Abstract 4112524: Novel Contactless and AI-Based Method Can Determine Heart Rate and Cardiac-Induced Vibrations of Chest

Introduction: Seismocardiography (SCG) - measurements of cardiovascular-induced vibrations on the chest - has shown potential for providing clinical information for cardiac conditions. SCG is conventionally recorded by an accelerometer attached to a single point on chest. Recent research suggests multichannel SCG (mSCG) - measurements from multiple chest locations - can provide extra and more accurate clinical information. Current mSCG methods are limited to accelerometer arrays, laser Doppler vibrometry, and airborne ultrasound that are either costly, difficult for inexperienced users, or need bulky equipment, thereby impeding their use beyond research or clinical settings. Hypothesis: mSCG signals can be accurately estimated from tiny chest movements in chest videos recorded by ordinary cameras, e.g., those in smartphones. Methods: We enrolled 10 subjects (sbjs) with no history of CVDs (21.7 ± 1.7 years, 40% women). ECG and chest video of sbjs were recorded at rest for 15 sec during breath hold at the end of inhalation followed by another 15 sec recording during breath hold at the end of exhalation. We developed an AI-powered mobile app to record the chest videos and convert them to 0-30 Hz mSCG in right-to-left (RL) and head-to-foot (HF) directions (Fig 1a). Heart rate (HR) based on ECG RR interval and mSCG was measured and compared. Results: HR estimated from mSCG in both RL and HF directions had a good agreement with ECG-based HR using Bland-Altman analysis [RL: bias = 1.4 bpm, 95% CI = 5.6 bpm; HF: bias = 0.8 bpm, 95% CI = 6.2 bpm (Fig 1b)]. High-quality mSCG and ECG measurements were obtained for all sbjs. Conclusion: Clinically relevant information can be accurately extracted from chest videos using our novel, contactless, AI-based method. Given that the vast majority of Americans have access to a camera phone, future developments of this method may provide new means of remote and accessible cardiac monitoring.

Line-shape parameters and their temperature dependence for self-broadened CO2 lines in the 296 K- 1250 K range by requantized classical molecular dynamics simulations

Line-shape parameters for self-broadened CO2 transitions are predicted for temperatures ranging from 296 K to 1250 K, using requantized molecular dynamics simulations (rCMDS). The line broadening coefficient, the speed dependence component and the first-order line-mixing coefficient for lines with rotational quantum number from 2 to 100, have been determined from fits of the rCMDS spectra with the Voigt and speed dependent Voigt profiles. These parameters and their temperature dependence were compared with recent high-quality measurements at both room and high temperatures, showing good agreements for all considered parameters. In particular, this study highlights that the temperature dependence of the speed dependent Voigt line broadening coefficient in the HITRAN database needs to be corrected. Additionally, we demonstrate that the temperature dependence for the speed-dependence of the line broadening differs from that of the line broadening, contrary to the assumption widely used in the literature. These findings confirm the quality of theoretical predictions using rCMDS. The data provided can be used to complete and improve spectroscopic databases for various applications.

Psychometric properties of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory - Patient Reported Outcome: A cognitively accessible measure of functional performance.

To evaluate the structural validity, internal reliability, and measurement invariance of the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory - Patient Reported Outcome (PEDI-PRO), a measure of functional performance of discrete tasks required to participate in everyday life situations important for adulthood. This was a cross-sectional study with 306 young people aged 14 to 22 years (mean 18 years 10 months, SD 2 years 5 months) with developmental disabilities (43.1% autism spectrum disorder only, 23.9% intellectual disability, 17.6% other disability, 11.4% both autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability, 3.9% missing) completed the PEDI-PRO. Following COnsensus-based Standards for selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) criteria, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis, applied a Rasch rating-scale model, examined Cronbach's alpha, Rasch person reliability and separation coefficients, and differential item functioning (DIF). Structural validity was good for the daily activities and mobility domains, and acceptable for the social/cognitive domain. The 3-point Likert response scale functioned as intended. All domains demonstrated acceptable internal consistency on all criteria. One or two items in each domain demonstrated DIF, but the impact on all domain scores was less than 1.0 threshold. The cognitively accessible design and innovative conceptual measurement framework probably contributed to these promising findings. The PEDI-PRO addresses a gap in high-quality patient-reported outcome measures that assess priority outcomes for young people with developmental disabilities.

A Likelihood-Based Triangulation Method for Uncertainties in Through-Water Depth Mapping

Coastal environments, which are crucial for economic and strategic reasons, heavily rely on accurate bathymetry for safe navigation and resource monitoring. Recent advancements in through-water photogrammetry have shown promise in mapping shallow waters efficiently. However, robust uncertainty modeling methods for these techniques, especially in challenging coastal environments, are lacking. This study introduces a novel likelihood-based approach for through-water photogrammetry, focusing on uncertainties associated with camera pose—a key factor affecting depth mapping accuracy. Our methodology incorporates probabilistic modeling and stereo-photogrammetric triangulation to provide realistic estimates of uncertainty in Water Column Depth (WCD) and Water–Air Interface (WAI) height. Using simulated scenarios for both drone and airborne surveys, we demonstrate that viewing geometry and camera pose quality significantly influence resulting uncertainties, often overshadowing the impact of depth itself. Our results reveal the superior performance of the likelihood ratio statistic in scenarios involving high attitude noise, high flight altitude, and complex viewing geometries. Notably, drone-based applications show particular promise, achieving decimeter-level WCD precision and WAI height estimations comparable to high-quality GNSS measurements when using large samples. These findings highlight the potential of drone-based surveys in producing more accurate bathymetric charts for shallow coastal waters. This research contributes to the refinement of uncertainty quantification in bathymetric charting and sets a foundation for future advancements in through-water surveying methodologies.

Comparison of Subjective and Wavefront-Measured Refractions by InnovEyes Platform in Myopic Patients.

To compare the subjective refraction and Innov-Eyes (Alcon Laboratories, Inc) wavefront-measured refraction in patients with myopia and astigmatism before refractive surgery. Consecutive myopic patients planning to receive refractive surgery with ages between 18 and 50 years old were retrospectively enrolled. The subjective and wavefront-measured refraction (InnovEyes platform) were compared, and the influential factors for the measurement difference were analyzed. Of the 500 eyes enrolled, the mean age was 29.3 ± 6.8 years. Mean wavefront-measured refraction was 0.58 ± 0.62 diopters (D) more myopic and 0.10 ± 0.27 D more astigmatic than subjective refraction (P < .001). Wavefront-measured refraction exhibited excellent consistency and significant correlation with subjective refraction. Linear regression demonstrated that age (P = .008) and wavefront-measured sphere standard deviation (P < .001) were positively correlated with spherical measurement difference, and total quality score (P < .001) and accommodative response (binocular cross-cylinder) (P = .011) demonstrated a negative correlation with spherical and cylindrical measurement difference. The patients with low wavefront measurement quality had significantly greater spherical differences than those with high-quality measurement (P < .001). The patients with accommodative lead had greater spherical equivalent differences than other participants (P = .047). Wavefront-measured refraction had excellent consistency with subjective refraction, although it measured more myopia and astigmatism than subjective refraction. The spherical measurement difference was greater in older patients and those with accommodative lead. More stable and higher quality repeated measurements will yield closer results between wavefront-measured and subjective refraction. [J Refract Surg. 2024;40(11):e836-e844.].

Measuring the diffuse interstellar bands at 5780, 5797, and 6614 Å in low-resolution spectra of cool stars from LAMOST

Context. The limited number of high-resolution spectra of hot stars is inadequate for statistical studies of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). In contrast, the vast quantity of low-resolution spectroscopic surveys on cool stars holds great potential for investigating the relationship between DIBs and the known interstellar medium (ISM), as well as the spatial distribution of their unidentified carriers. Aims. We attempt to measure the DIBs λ5780, λ5797, and λ6614 in over two million low-resolution spectra of cool stars from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST). Based on these DIB measurements, we reviewed and investigated the correlation between DIBs and extinction; the kinematics of DIBs; and the Galactic distribution of DIBs from a statistical perspective. Methods. We developed a pipeline to measure the DIBs λ5780, λ5797, and λ6614 in the LAMOST low-resolution spectra. Four modules in the pipeline consist of building the target and reference dataset; extracting the ISM residual spectra from the target spectra; measuring the DIBs in the residual spectra; and quality control of the measurements. Results. We obtained DIB measurements of spectra of late-type stars from LAMOST, and selected 176 831, 13 473, and 110 152 high-quality (HQ) measurements of the DIBs λ5780, λ5797, and λ6614, respectively, corresponding to 142074, 11 480, and 85 301 unique sources. Using these HQ measurements, we present Galactic maps of the DIBs λ5780 and λ6614 in the northern sky for the first time. The central wavelengths of the DIBs λ5780, λ5797, and λ6614 in air are determined to be 5780.48 ± 0.01, 5796.94 ± 0.02, and 6613.64 ± 0.01 Å, respectively, based on their kinematics. A statistical fit of the equivalent widths of these three DIBs per unit extinction provides values of 0.565, 0.176, and 0.256 Å mag−1. As a result of this work, three catalogs of the HQ measurements for the DIBs λ5780, λ5797, and λ6614 are provided via https://nadc.china-vo.org/res/r181484/. Conclusions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest number of measurements of these three DIBs to date. It is also the first time that Galactic maps of the DIBs λ5780 and λ6614 in the northern hemisphere are presented, and that the central wavelengths of the DIBs λ5780, λ5797, and λ6614 are estimated from kinematics.

Trust in Automation Measures for Aeromedical Settings

INTRODUCTION: As military environments integrate more complex technological systems, operators increasingly require more assistance from automation. When used properly, automation can significantly enhance performance; however, proper use is predicated on the operator’s trust in the automation (TIA). TIA, like trust among people, is influenced by biological, psychosocial, and behavioral aspects. While options for measuring TIA have rapidly expanded in the past decade, there has been little consideration for how well these measures perform in operational environments. METHODS: A 10-yr literature review was conducted to identify TIA measures and rate their appropriateness for operational aeromedical environments. Articles from Google Scholar, EBSCO, and the Defense Technical Information Center databases were included, focusing on user-reported, physiological, and behavioral measures. Study quality was rated by aeromedical research scientists, while aeromedical appropriateness was evaluated by rated military pilots. Measures were categorized as High Recommendation, Cautious Recommendation, or Not Recommended based on these evaluations. RESULTS: Of the measures reviewed, 28 were recommended for operational use, 23 received cautious recommendations, and 6 were not recommended. The recommended measures demonstrated high research quality and suitability for aeromedical environments. The cautious recommendations highlighted measures with specific limitations that need to be considered in operational settings, while the not recommended measures lacked sufficient evidence for reliable use in these contexts. DISCUSSION: Several high-quality TIA measures appear suitable for operational aeromedical settings. While these recommendations offer a starting point for testing TIA in aeromedical settings, further research is required to test how well these measures perform in an operational environment. Ranes B, Wilkins J, Kenser E, Caid-Loos M. Trust in automation measures for aeromedical settings. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2024; 95(11):851–861.

Significant spatial variation of upper crustal anisotropy in Southern Sichuan Basin, China: constraints from local shear wave splitting analysis

SUMMARY The recent upsurge in seismic activity within the southern Sichuan Basin has garnered considerable public attention and simultaneously offers a valuable opportunity for investigating upper crustal anisotropy. Such investigations can provide critical insights into the stress field and crustal deformation in the region. We obtained a total of 1845 high-quality local shear wave splitting measurements at 15 stations and 2027 null measurements at 19 stations. These results indicate the presence of a single layer of anisotropy with a horizontal axis of symmetry at a depth of 3 to 7 km. The fast polarization directions display discernible spatial variations that are primarily influenced by the geographical location of earthquakes rather than changes over time. In the vicinity of the Baimazhen Syncline, the fast polarization directions coincide with the strike of the stratum, forming a circular pattern around the core of the syncline, suggesting that the observed anisotropy is structure-controlled. In contrast, stations situated in the southern Weiyuan Anticline and western Baimazhen Syncline display fast directions trending N171.7 °E and N45.9 °E, respectively. These directions are consistent with the P axes of the focal mechanism of earthquakes, signifying that the anisotropy in these areas is governed by the regional stress field. The findings of this study not only deepen our understanding of the intricate geological structures in the southern Sichuan Basin, but also indicate the need for greater caution when interpreting potential temporal changes in anisotropy in future research.

Measurement Properties of the Patient Assessment of Transitions in Healthcare Settings (PATH) Questionnaire

ABSTRACT Further evaluation of the Patient Assessment of Transitions in Healthcare settings (PATH) questionnaire measurement properties is needed to ensure high-quality measurement of patients’ experiences of healthcare provision which includes transitions across settings. The aim of this study was to determine structural validity and reliability for measurement of patient-experienced quality in healthcare transitions across hospital, GP, municipal rehabilitation, and/or home care settings for the PATH questionnaire through Rasch analysis. This study supports that PATH is a structurally valid measure for use in hospital, GP, and municipal home care. However, use of PATH for evaluation of municipal rehabilitation is not currently recommended. We find that PATH discriminates adequately between poor, moderate, and good patient-experienced quality of healthcare transitions without systematic differential item functioning. In conclusion, PATH enables valid and reliable planning and evaluation of initiatives to improve pathways which include transitions across healthcare settings.

Experimental and computational study of aerodynamic loads on the NATO Generic Destroyer

This paper describes a detailed study into the aerodynamic loading of a 150 m long conceptual combat ship known as the NATO Generic Destroyer. Results are presented from a wind tunnel experiment in which the drag and side forces, and the roll and yaw moments, were measured around the 360° azimuth using a 0.75 m long model of the ship. Surface pressures were also measured between 0° and 180°, using 252 pressure taps distributed over the surface of the ship. The measured loads and surface pressures are shown to agree reasonably well, for most wind directions, with those predicted by a steady RANS CFD method. An unexpected result was found in the drag measurements, whereby the force was found to be towards the stern for wind directions up to 120°, i.e., with a wind component towards the bow. The reason for this apparent anomaly was explained by considering the flow field and the surface pressures acting on the ship for wind angles between 90° and 135°. The primary purpose of the paper is to make available a set of high-quality aerodynamic load measurements for a well-defined ship geometry, which is freely accessible, thereby providing a test case for CFD validation.

Using spaceborne LiDAR to reveal drivers of animal demography.

Remote sensing can provide continuous spatiotemporal information about vegetation to inform wildlife habitat estimates, but these methods are often limited in availability or lack adequate resolution to capture the three-dimensional vegetative details critical for understanding habitat. The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) is a spaceborne light detection and ranging system (LiDAR) that has revolutionized the availability of high-quality three-dimensional vegetation measurements of the Earth's temperate and tropical forests. To date, wildlife-related applications of GEDI data or GEDI-fusion products have been limited to estimate species habitat use, distribution, and diversity. Here, our goal was to expand the use of GEDI-based applications to wildlife demography by evaluating if GEDI data fusions could aid in characterizing demographic parameters of wildlife. We leveraged a recently published dataset of GEDI-fusion forest structures and capture-mark-recapture data to estimate the density and survival of two small mammal species, Humboldt's flying squirrel (Glaucomys oregonensis) and Townsend's chipmunk (Neotamias townsendii), from three studies in western Oregon spanning 2014-2021. We used capture histories in Huggins robust design models to estimate apparent annual survival and density as a derived parameter. We found strong support that both flying squirrel and chipmunk density were associated with GEDI-fusion forest structures of foliage height diversity and plant area volume density in the 5-10 m strata for flying squirrels and proportionately higher plant area volume density in the 0-20 m strata for chipmunks, as well as other spatiotemporal factors such as elevation. We found weak support that apparent annual survival was associated with GEDI-fusion forest structures for flying squirrels but not for chipmunks. We demonstrate further utility of these methods by creating spatially explicit density maps of both species that could aid management and conservation policies. Our work represents a novel application of GEDI data to evaluate wildlife demography and produce continuous spatially explicit density predictions for these species. We conclude that aspects of small mammal demography can be explained by forest structure as characterized via GEDI data fusions.

Detecting cardiac states with wearable photoplethysmograms and implications for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest detection.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a global health problem affecting approximately 4.4million individuals yearly. OHCA has a poor survival rate, specifically when unwitnessed (accounting for up to 75% of cases). Rapid recognition can significantly improve OHCA survival, and consumer wearables with continuous cardiopulmonary monitoring capabilities hold potential to "witness" cardiac arrest and activate emergency services. In this study, we used an arterial occlusion model to simulate cardiac arrest and investigated the ability of infrared photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensors, often utilized in consumer wearable devices, to differentiate normal cardiac pulsation, pulseless cardiac (i.e., resembling a cardiac arrest), and non-physiologic (i.e., off-body) states. Across the classification models trained and evaluated on three anatomical locations, higher classification performances were observed on the finger (macro average F1-score of 0.964 on the fingertip and 0.954 on the finger base) compared to the wrist (macro average F1-score of 0.837). The wrist-based classification model, which was trained and evaluated using all PPG measurements, including both high- and low-quality recordings, achieved a macro average precision and recall of 0.922 and 0.800, respectively. This wrist-based model, which represents the most common form factor in consumer wearables, could only capture about 43.8% of pulseless events. However, models trained and tested exclusively on high-quality recordings achieved higher classification outcomes (macro average F1-score of 0.975 on the fingertip, 0.973 on the finger base, and 0.934 on the wrist). The fingertip model had the highest performance to differentiate arterial occlusion pulselessness from normal cardiac pulsation and off-body measurements with macro average precision and recall of 0.978 and 0.972, respectively. This model was able to identify 93.7% of pulseless states (i.e., resembling a cardiac arrest event), with a 0.4% false positive rate. All classification models relied on a combination of time-, power spectral density (PSD)-, and frequency-domain features to differentiate normal cardiac pulsation, pulseless cardiac, and off-body PPG recordings. However, our best model represented an idealized detection condition, relying on ensuring high-quality PPG data for training and evaluation of machine learning algorithms. While 90.7% of our PPG recordings from the fingertip were considered of high quality, only 53.2% of the measurements from the wrist passed the quality criteria. Our findings have implications for adapting consumer wearables to provide OHCA detection, involving advancements in hardware and software to ensure high-quality measurements in real-world settings, as well as development of wearables with form factors that enable high-quality PPG data acquisition more consistently. Given these improvements, we demonstrate that OHCA detection can feasibly be made available to anyone using PPG-based consumer wearables.

Noise sensitivity analysis of focal scanning light field imaging.

Light field imaging can simultaneously record spatial and angular information of light signals to provide various computational imaging functions. However, traditional microlens array-based light field cameras usually suffer from a trade-off between spatial and angular resolutions. In contrast, focal scanning light field imaging (FSLFI) can digitally modulate an incident light field through an image stack captured at different focal planes and then utilize the transport-of-intensity property to computationally recover the full-resolution light field. This paper presents a unified light field reconstruction algorithm framework, which involves different types of algorithms, such as back-projection reconstruction and additive/multiplicative iterative reconstruction, for FSLFI. Based on the unified algorithm framework, we systematically analyze and investigate the FSLFI performance on noise sensitivity. Light fields are reconstructed at different noise levels to quantitatively analyze the FSLFI performances with different types of algorithms. Both simulation and actual experimental results demonstrate that the noise sensitivity and reconstruction accuracy are constrained by each other for FSLFI. Back-projection reconstruction is appropriate in high-efficiency light field reconstruction, while additive/multiplicative iterative reconstruction is suitable for high-accuracy light field imaging at high/low noise levels. These conclusions can apply to any FSLFI method covered by the unified algorithm framework, in which appropriate algorithms can be selected for high-quality light field imaging and measurement according to specific application scenarios.

Estimating adolescent mental health in the general population: current challenges and opportunities.

Adolescence is a period of change and increased mental health difficulties, which are important for lifetime outcomes. Adolescent mental health is therefore an active research area, with large samples often drawing on self-report general measures (ie, not disorder-specific or focused on a narrow outcome). We argue that these measures have a key role in our understanding of issues such as prevalence, antecedents, prevention, and intervention, however, measurement has been given little attention and high-quality measures do not tend to be available or used. We offer insights into historical and psychometric challenges that have contributed to current problems and highlight the implications of relying on poor measures, which at their worst can be biased and unethical. We make recommendations for research and practice on selecting measures and improving the evidence base and make a call to action to reject low-quality measurement in this field.

Fermi Blazars in the Zwicky Transient Facility Survey: Properties of Large Optical Variations

We analyze the optical light curve data, obtained with the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey, for 47 γ-ray blazars monitored by the Large Area Telescope onboard the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi). These 47 sources are selected because they are among the Fermi blazars with the largest optical variations in the ZTF data. Two color–magnitude variation patterns are seen in them, with one being redder-to-stable-when-brighter (RSWB; in 31 sources) and the other being stable when brighter (in 16 sources). The patterns fit with the results recently reported in several similar studies with different data. Moreover, we find that the colors in the stable state of the sources share similar values, for which (after being corrected for the Galactic extinction) most sources are in a range of 0.4–0.55. This feature could be intrinsic and may be applied in, for example, study of the intragalactic medium. We also determine the turning points for the sources showing the RSWB pattern, after which the color changes saturate and become stable. We find a correlation between optical fluxes and γ-ray fluxes at the turning points. The physical implications of the correlation remain to be investigated, probably better with a sample of high-quality γ-ray flux measurements.

Teachers’ computational thinking content knowledge: Development of a measurement instrument

Computational thinking has become an integral component of curricula worldwide, necessitating teachers to develop this competence in their students. To effectively meet these curricular requirements, teachers themselves need a solid foundation of computational thinking content knowledge, which refers to the understanding and skills they possess in this area. However, despite widespread recognition of this need, few studies have rigorously examined teachers' content knowledge in this domain. Addressing this gap requires the development of high-quality measurement tools. This study details the development of an instrument, created as part of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2023 in Flanders, to measure lower secondary school teachers' computational thinking content knowledge in a valid and reliable way. The article first outlines the construction process of the instrument, which involved close collaboration with experts in the field and drew upon the framework of Fraillon et al. (2023). Following this, the instrument's psychometric properties are presented, which include both item-level and overall instrument characteristics. These properties were evaluated using data from a sample of 352 participants, applying both Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory. The final tool consists of sixteen multiple-choice and short constructed response questions. The results indicate favorable item and overall instrument characteristics, thereby affirming its potential to measure the intended construct in a valid and accurate way.

A side-by-side comparison of variant function measurements using deep mutational scanning and base editing.

Variant annotation is a crucial objective in mammalian functional genomics. Deep Mutational Scanning (DMS) is a well-established method for annotating human gene variants, but CRISPR base editing (BE) is emerging as an alternative. However, questions remain about how well high-throughput base editing measurements can annotate variant function and the extent of downstream experimental validation required. This study presents the first direct comparison of DMS and BE in the same lab and cell line. Results indicate that focusing on the most likely edits and highest efficiency sgRNAs enhances the agreement between a "gold standard" DMS dataset and a BE screen. A simple filter for sgRNAs making single edits in their window could sufficiently annotate a large proportion of variants directly from sgRNA sequencing of large pools. When multi-edit guides are unavoidable, directly measuring the variants created in the pool, rather than sgRNA abundance, can recover high-quality variant annotation measurements in multiplexed pools. Taken together, our data show a surprising degree of correlation between base editor data and gold standard deep mutational scanning.