Inexperienced Evaluators Research Articles

Lung Ultrasound Score in Neonatal RDS: Agreement between Sonography Expert and Neonatologists with Varying Levels of Experience.

This study aimed to assess interrater agreement in lung ultrasound scores (LUS) among neonatologists with varying experience levels and an expert sonographer. A post hoc analysis was conducted on data from a prospective multicenter study involving 155 infants born <34 weeks' gestation, all with respiratory distress syndrome. A total of 629 lung scans were performed and video-recorded by 21 point-of-care sonographers, including both experienced (n = 7) and inexperienced (n = 14) evaluators. Subsequently, a blinded expert sonographer re-evaluated the assigned LUS values. The Cohen's kappa statistic for individual pulmonary field assessments ranged from 0.89 to 0.93, indicating nearly perfect agreement. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) confirmed excellent reliability on total LUS values, demonstrating similar performance of experienced (ICC = 0.92, 95% CI 0.90-0.94) and inexperienced sonographers (ICC = 0.93, 95% CI 0.92-0.94). This study underscores that lung ultrasound is easily learned, and LUS exhibits outstanding reproducibility, irrespective of the sonographer's level of experience.

Evaluation of nasolabial esthetics in 8- to 12-year-old patients with cleft lip and palate by healthcare professionals in Northeast Thailand.

To assess the aesthetics of the nasolabial appearance of patients with cleft lip and palate aged 8-12 years by experienced and inexperienced professionals. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 32 patients with cleft lip and palate, who underwent surgery and follow-up treatment at the Cleft Center. The research tools included a parent-completed survey providing GO graphic data and two-dimensional frontal view photographs of patients from both left and right sides. The aesthetic of the lip, nose, and nasolabial region was evaluated by an experienced and inexperienced medical professional team in groups of four individuals. In addition, data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, mean values, standard deviations, Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The average age of patients was 10.32 years, mainly male (65.63%), had unilateral cleft lip and palate (62.50%), and underwent bone grafting (96.88%). Regarding the assessment in three aspects, the aesthetic score assessed by experienced evaluators is fair level (2.64 ± 1.09) with an acceptable value of 0.73. In contrast, the inexperienced evaluator showed a high level (2.43 ± 0.83) with a high inter-rater reliability acceptable value of 0.60. Inexperienced evaluators showed higher scores for the lip and nasolabial region than experienced evaluators, which was statistically significant (p-values < 0.01). The inexperienced evaluators showed significantly higher scores for appearance than experienced evaluators. This result can improve surgical techniques in future procedures to meet the needs of patients seeking lip and nasolabial appearance corrections across different age groups.

Effectiveness of FEES with artificial intelligence-assisted computer-aided diagnosis

ObjectivesFEES is a standard procedure for diagnosing dysphagia. However, appropriate evaluation of FEES findings is difficult for inexperienced evaluators. Recent progress in deep learning has highlighted the use of artificial intelligence-assisted computer-aided diagnosis (AI-assisted CAD) in medical applications. We investigated the detection accuracy of FEES findings evaluated by inexperienced evaluators with and without the use of CAD. MethodsThe algorithm for FEES-CAD was developed using 25,630 expert-annotated images. A total of 45 inexperienced evaluators from three groups of people (resident doctors, nurses, and medical students), evaluated 32 FEES videos from 32 patients. To confirm the effectiveness of FEES-CAD, first, 32 FEES videos were evaluated without the use of CAD. Second, one half was evaluated with, and one half without, the use of CAD. The detection accuracy of the FEES findings was investigated, and the evaluation results obtained with CAD were statistically compared with those obtained without CAD. ResultsIn the first FEES evaluation, the total detection accuracy was 82.2 %. In the second evaluation, the total detection accuracy with CAD was 84.3 %, and that without CAD was 81.7 %. The detection accuracies by the resident doctors, nurses, and medical students with CAD were 90.1 %, 82.6 %, and 79.4 %, respectively, and those without CAD were 83.7 %, 80.9 % and 80.1 %, respectively. In the resident doctors, the detection accuracy was significantly better when CAD was used for evaluation, compared with the non-CAD evaluations. ConclusionThe present study demonstrated the effectiveness of FEES-CAD in improving the detection accuracy of resident doctors, however, the differences were small.

Learning rate of students detecting and annotating pediatric wrist fractures in supervised artificial intelligence dataset preparations.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in image analysis is an intensively debated topic in the radiology community these days. AI computer vision algorithms typically rely on large-scale image databases, annotated by specialists. Developing and maintaining them is time-consuming, thus, the involvement of non-experts into the workflow of annotation should be considered. We assessed the learning rate of inexperienced evaluators regarding correct labeling of pediatric wrist fractures on digital radiographs. Students with and without a medical background labeled wrist fractures with bounding boxes in 7,000 radiographs over ten days. Pediatric radiologists regularly discussed their mistakes. We found F1 scores—as a measure for detection rate—to increase substantially under specialist feedback (mean 0.61±0.19 at day 1 to 0.97±0.02 at day 10, p<0.001), but not the Intersection over Union as a parameter for labeling precision (mean 0.27±0.29 at day 1 to 0.53±0.25 at day 10, p<0.001). The times needed to correct the students decreased significantly (mean 22.7±6.3 seconds per image at day 1 to 8.9±1.2 seconds at day 10, p<0.001) and were substantially lower as annotated by the radiologists alone. In conclusion our data showed, that the involvement of undergraduated students into annotation of pediatric wrist radiographs enables a substantial time saving for specialists, therefore, it should be considered.

Diagrammatic scale for phyllachora in Australian red cedar

The Australian red cedar (Toona ciliata), a forest species native to southwestern Asia, has aroused commercial interest for its high-quality timber. Phyllachora was recently reported in this species in Brazil, but there is a lack of knowledge about its epidemiology and control. Currently, no methodologies exist for quantifying the severity of this disease in cedar trees. In the present study, a diagrammatic scale comprising five levels of disease severity was developed. Validation of the proposed diagrammatic scale was performed by having 13 inexperienced evaluators conduct three assessments, separated by seven-day intervals, of samples with various levels of disease severity. In the first assessment, the evaluators did not use the diagrammatic scale and estimated severity as a percentage. In the second and third assessments, levels were assigned with the aid of the scale proposed in this study. The accuracy and precision of the severity estimates of each evaluator were analyzed by linear regression and Lin’s statistics. The reproducibility of the estimates was evaluated using the coefficient of determination of linear regressions of data from pairs of evaluators. Of 200 leaflets collected to develop the diagrammatic scale, 96% showed severity below 9%, and only 4% showed severity between 9 and 15%. The assessments performed with the scale yielded greater precision, accuracy, reproducibility and reproducibility of estimates than did those performed without the scale. Therefore, it is recommended that the proposed scale be used for the quantification of severity of phyllachora.

Development and validation of a diagrammatic scale for the assessment of the severity of bacterial leaf streak of corn

The recent occurrence of bacterial leaf streak of corn caused by Xanthomonas vasicola pv. vasculorum represents a potential threat to the maize crop in Brazil. This study aimed to develop and validate a diagrammatic scale for the assessment of leaf streak severity in corn leaves. Linear regression and Lin’s coefficient approaches were used to explore the intra- and inter-rater reliability and accuracy of experienced and inexperienced evaluators. In cornfields in Cafelândia, Parana state, 450 leaves that were naturally infected by the bacterium were collected from plants in stages V12 to R2. APS Assess software was used to measure the disease severity. The proposed scale consisted of eight levels: 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 11, 18, 37 and 67%. Validation was performed by five experienced and five inexperienced evaluators. The use of the scale improved the precision of inexperienced (R2= 0.66 and 0.88, with and without the scale) and experienced (R2= 0.81 and 0.97, without and with the scale) evaluators. In general, inexperienced evaluators overestimated (β0 = 5.7) disease severity without the scale, and experienced evaluators underestimated (β0 = − 2.1) disease severity without and with the scale. The agreement (pc = 0.83 and 0.94, without and with the scale, respectively) and accuracy (Cb = 0.93 and 0.98, without and with the scale, respectively) improved with the use of the scale. The overall concordance correlation coefficient (OCCC) showed the improvement of the concordance between experienced evaluators. The use of the proposed diagrammatic scale proved to be adequate for evaluating the severity of the bacterial leaf streak and improved the inter- and intrarater reliability and accuracy of experienced and inexperienced evaluators.

Validation of Diagram Scale for Leaf Spot Caused by Pestalotiopsis sp. in Coconut Seedlings

The absence of a methodology to quantify Pestalotiopsis sp. in coconut plants (Cocos nucifera L.) justified the elaboration and validation of a diagrammatic scale containing seven values (2%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 40% and 60%) of disease severity, in a sampling under natural conditions of occurrence in the field. To elaborate the diagrammatic scale, 100 leaves of Cocos nucifera L. were obtained from an experimental field of Fazenda Reunidas Sococo in Santa Isabel, Pará. The images of these leaves were obtained with the aid of a digital camera. Subsequently, with the aid of Assess 2.0 APS software, the actual disease severity values were obtained in percentage terms. The validation of the proposed diagrammatic scale was performed by ten inexperienced evaluators who evaluated the projected images without the aid of the suggested scale, and later, with the aid of the scale. From the data obtained from the evaluators with and without scale, linear regression analysis was performed, relating the real severity and the estimated severity. The accuracy of the estimates was evaluated by the regression determination coefficient (R2) and the variance of the absolute errors. The accuracy of each evaluator was determined by the t-test applied to the angular coefficient of line (b) and the linear coefficient of line (a), both obtained by linear regression. Through the coefficient of determination values, It is possible to verify that the use of the scale gave greater accuracy to 100% of the evaluators with an average of 0.94 and 94% repeatability. The use of the diagrammatic spot scale for Pestalotiopsis sp. it enables future work with accuracy and precision, as well as optimizing disease control practices within a coconut tree nursery management program.

Standard area diagram set for scab quantification in trilobed leaves of the sour passion fruit

ABSTRACT: The study aimed to develop and validate a standard area diagram set (SADs) to improve accuracy, precision, and reproducibility in the assessment of scab severity in trilobed leaves of the sour passion fruit. The SADs comprised six severity levels (1%; 3%; 6%; 11%; 21%; and 33%). The SADs increased the accuracy of the estimates by reducing the constant and systematic errors, and the tendency to overestimate the actual severity, limited the number of evaluators who presented this trend, in addition to increasing the bias correction factor. The inexperienced evaluators were the ones that benefited the most from the SADs use. Once the SADs was introduced, 80% and 100% evaluators gave estimates free from constant and systematic errors, respectively. The improvement in precision was verified by the increase in the coefficient of determination and Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient, by reducing absolute errors and increasing the reproducibility of the estimates.

Diagrammatic scale for severity evaluation of the Eremanthus erythropappus–Puccinia velata pathosystem

AbstractCandeia (Eremanthus erythropappus (DC.) MacLeish), a native forest species from South America, has garnered commercial interest due to its production of essential oil that contains alpha‐bisabolol. This compound is widely used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry, with approximately 80% of Brazilian production being exported. Since candeia rust (Puccinia velata) has only been reported in Brazil, little is known about its epidemiology and control. There is no methodology to quantify rust severity in candeia, justifying the elaboration and validation of a diagrammatic scale containing eight levels of disease severity based on leaf area coverage (0.25%, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 4%, 8%, 16% and 32%). In a natural sampling of disease in the field, 95% of the leaves showed severity below 16%, with the remaining 5% showing severities between 16% and 32% of leaf area. Validation of the proposed diagrammatic scale was performed by assessing the results from 10 inexperienced evaluators, performing evaluations of three leaves with different severity levels. The evaluations were performed at 7‐day intervals; in the first instance, severity values were assigned without the diagrammatic scale, and for the second attempt, the scale proposed in this study was used. The accuracy and precision of the severity estimates produced by each evaluator compared to the real severity was analysed by linear regression and by Lin's statistics. The reproducibility of the estimates was evaluated by analysing the coefficient of determination of linear regressions by pairs of evaluators. The scale provided adequate levels of accuracy, precision, repeatability and reproducibility, indicating the proposed scale was a suitable method for quantifying the severity of candeia rust.

Fidedignidade nas medidas derivadas do método de palpação de um software para avaliação postural: a experiência clínica importa?

The postural evaluation software (SAPO) has been used as a valuable tool for the analysis of postural alterations, however, such a tool depends on palpation performed by the evaluator. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the inter- and intra-examiner reliability of experienced and inexperienced examiners in measurements derived from the palpation method, and its possible influence on measurements obtained by SAPO. Nine evaluators participated in the study, which were divided into three groups according to experience with respect to palpation (GI: inexperienced group, GSE: semi-experienced group and GE: experienced group). Each evaluator performed the postural analysis of 10 volunteers, which were photographed in orthostatic position, following the SAPO recommendations. The intra-examiner reliability analysis indicated that all three groups had higher, good and moderate mean correlation values for each examiner than low correlations. In the inter-examiner reliability assessment, GE and GSE groups exhibited higher correlation values. The intra-class correlation coefficient, in the single-measure analysis, presented correlation coefficients &lt;0.70 in 9 of the variables analyzed, indicating non-significant correlation. It was concluded that the measures analyzed by SAPO have high intra-examiner reliability. However, regarding inter-examiner reliability, the group composed of inexperienced evaluators presented lower values, suggesting that the experience time may have influenced the inter-examiner reliability regarding postural evaluation.

Fidedignidade nas medidas derivadas do método de palpação de um software para avaliação postural: a experiência clínica importa?

The postural evaluation software (SAPO) has been used as a valuable tool for the analysis of postural alterations, however, such a tool depends on palpation performed by the evaluator. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the inter- and intra-examiner reliability of experienced and inexperienced examiners in measurements derived from the palpation method, and its possible influence on measurements obtained by SAPO. Nine evaluators participated in the study, which were divided into three groups according to experience with respect to palpation (GI: inexperienced group, GSE: semi-experienced group and GE: experienced group). Each evaluator performed the postural analysis of 10 volunteers, which were photographed in orthostatic position, following the SAPO recommendations. The intra-examiner reliability analysis indicated that all three groups had higher, good and moderate mean correlation values for each examiner than low correlations. In the inter-examiner reliability assessment, GE and GSE groups exhibited higher correlation values. The intra-class correlation coefficient, in the single-measure analysis, presented correlation coefficients <0.70 in 9 of the variables analyzed, indicating non-significant correlation. It was concluded that the measures analyzed by SAPO have high intra-examiner reliability. However, regarding inter-examiner reliability, the group composed of inexperienced evaluators presented lower values, suggesting that the experience time may have influenced the inter-examiner reliability regarding postural evaluation.

Development and validation of diagrammatic scale to assess target spot severity in cotton

Due to the emergence of target spot disease on cotton, caused by the fungus Corynespora cassiicola, the aim of this study was the development and validation of a diagrammatic scale to assess the severity of target spot on cotton leaves using Lin’s statistic and linear regression models. For the design of the scale, 200 cotton leaves were collected from naturally infected plants. Severity was measured by APS assess image analysis software. The diagrammatic scale was developed with seven levels of severity: 1%, 2%, 5%, 9%, 19%, 37 and 53%. Validation was determined by severity estimates of 50 leaves by five experienced and five inexperienced evaluators. The first assessment was performance without a scale and the second with a scale aid. The data were analyzed by two methods: Lin’s statistics and linear regression. The diagrammatic scale aid reduced the absolute and relative error and improved precision (R2 = 0.79 and 0.91 without and with the scale, respectively). Evaluators overestimated the severity without the scale. Agreement (Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient, pc = 0.83 and 0.94, without and with the scale, respectively) and accuracy (Bias correction factor, Cb = 0.93 and 0.98, without and with the scale, respectively) were improved with the scale. The agreement between experience evaluators was higher with the scale. The use of the proposed diagrammatic scale contributed to assessment of target spot in cotton leaves by improving inter- and intra-rater reliability and accuracy of experienced and inexperienced evaluators.

Effect of Auditory-Perceptual Training With Natural Voice Anchors on Vocal Quality Evaluation

To analyze the effects of auditory-perceptual training with anchor stimuli of natural voices on inter-rater agreement during the assessment of vocal quality. This is a quantitative nature study. An auditory-perceptual training site was developed consisting of Programming Interface A, an auditory training activity, and Programming Interface B, a control activity. Each interface had three stages: pre-training/pre-interval evaluation, training/interval, and post-training/post-interval evaluation. Two experienced evaluators classified 381 voices according to the GRBASI scale (G-grade, R-roughness, B-breathiness, A-asthenia, S-strain, I-instability). Voices were selected that received the same evaluation by both evaluators: 57 voices for evaluation and 56 for training were selected, with varying degrees of deviation across parameters. Fifteen inexperienced evaluators were then selected. In the pre-, post-training, pre-, and postinterval stages, evaluators listened to the voices and classified them via the GRBASI scale. In the stage interval evaluators read a text. In the stage training each parameter was trained separately. Evaluators analyzed the degrees of deviation of the GRBASI parameters based on anchor stimuli, and could only advance after correctly classifying the voices. To quantify inter-rater agreement and provide statistical analyses, the AC1 coefficient, confidence intervals, and percentage variation of agreement were employed. Except for the asthenia parameter, decreased agreement was observed in the control condition. Improved agreement was observed with auditory training, but this improvement did not achieve statistical significance. Training with natural voice anchors suggest an increased inter-rater agreement during perceptual voice analysis, potentially indicating that new internal references were established.

한국어 교사의 쓰기 평가 문식성 연구

In this paper, we inspect the effects and aspects of writing assessment literacy on writing assessment through a think-out-loud protocol and interviews, focusing on the knowledge and beliefs of evaluators. First, in terms of ‘knowledge’, evaluators show the mental representation of the evaluation criteria by using knowledge as an evaluator. In addition, they are aware of their assessment characteristics and try to control their strictness based on the knowledge through evaluator training experience and research. The evaluators show that they try to establish the internal criterion by themselves in the assessment situation where no evaluator training and discussion exists. Even though the analytical scoring method was given, the raters also used the holistic scoring method as a supplement. In addition, the evaluators show the social interaction that understand the context that the author intends based on writing without meeting student authors by exploiting the knowledge as a teacher who teaches Korean. Evaluators differed in proficiency in score representation because of their teaching experience and grader training. In terms of language use, experienced evaluators do more automated score representation than inexperienced evaluators. Next, from the perspective of ‘beliefs’, the difference between the evaluators was more prominent than the knowledge aspects. Especially, it is confirmed that the difference of beliefs of Korean writing for academic purposes evaluation constructs and L2 writing evaluation is represented as different text images and score representations. In addition, the evaluators generally agree that L1 literacy and L2 literacy is not fixed and influences each other. However, the difference in beliefs about the construct of writing for academic purposes results in differences in task performance and content criteria. (Woosong UniversityㆍUniversity of Minnesota)

Development and Validation of a Diagrammatic Scale to Assess the Severity of Black Rot of Crucifers in Kale

AbstractThe aim of this study was to develop a diagrammatic scale to evaluate black rot (Xanthomonas campestris pv. compestris) severity on kale (Brassica oleraceae var. acephala) leaves. The diagrammatic scale was developed and validated with eight levels of severity, ranging from 0.19 to 48.8%. More than 95% of the leaves collected from the field showed severity levels ranging from 0.1 to 21%, and 5% of the leaves showed severities higher than 22%. The validation of the scale was performed by 10 inexperienced evaluators, and the data were analysed with two methods: linear regression and Lin's statistics. Without the scale, most evaluators overestimated disease severity, whereas the use of the scale resulted in increased precision, accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of the estimates according to both validation methods. In conclusion, the proposed diagrammatic scale proved to be useful for assessments of black rot severity in kale leaves. The scale may be of interest to researches performing studies on epidemiology or breeding for resistance.

Evaluating damage in the perianth: a new diagrammatic scale to estimate population level of Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae) in coconut fruits

The coconut mite, Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae), is one of the main pests of the coconut crop by attacking the fruits. Colonies can reach 10,000 mites/fruit at high infestation. A diagrammatic scale (Galvao scale) has been developed and tested by Brazilian researchers to estimate the number of mites/fruit by determining the percentage of necrotic area of the fruit surface. Our objective was to develop and validate a new diagrammatic scale based on the percentage of the damaged perimeter of the fruit at the base of the perianth, in order to facilitate and improve the quantification of A. guerreronis per fruit. Fruits were collected in an urban coconut plantation in Ilheus, Bahia, Brazil. For the development of the new diagrammatic scale, it was calculated the percentage of the damaged perimeter on 50 fruits with different damage levels. To analyze the relationship between the damage and population levels of A. guerreronis on the fruits, we compared the two scales by testing them both on 470 fruits. The new diagrammatic scale recorded nine damage levels, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 48, 70 and 100%. To validate our new diagrammatic scale, the damage level in each fruit was estimated by 10 inexperienced evaluators, with and without the aid of the scale. The accuracy and precision of each evaluator were determined through linear regression between observed and estimated damage. With or without or the use of the scale, 5 of 10 evaluators overestimated or underestimated the damage level and were imprecise and inaccurate. This showed that the scale did not provide improvements in the levels of accuracy and precision of the evaluators. The relationship between infestation and damage levels showed high accuracy for both scales in the regression analysis (R²= 96% and R²= 98%). The population peak of A. guerreronis by the new diagrammatic scale occurred at 32% of damage level and for the Galvao scale it occurred at 8% of damage level. Although the new diagrammatic scale has not promoted improvements in damage estimates, it presented high precision in the relationship between infestation and damage levels.

Procedure for the systematic orientation of digitised cranial models. Design and validation

Comparison of bony pieces requires that they are oriented systematically to ensure that homologous regions are compared. Few orientation methods are highly accurate; this is particularly true for methods applied to three-dimensional models obtained by surface scanning, a technique whose special features make it a powerful tool in forensic contexts.The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a systematic, assisted orientation method for aligning three-dimensional cranial models relative to the Frankfurt Plane, which would be produce accurate orientations independent of operator and anthropological expertise.The study sample comprised four crania of known age and sex. All the crania were scanned and reconstructed using an Eva Artec™ portable 3D surface scanner and subsequently, the position of certain characteristic landmarks were determined by three different operators using the Rhinoceros 3D surface modelling software.Intra-observer analysis showed a tendency for orientation to be more accurate when using the assisted method than when using conventional manual orientation. Inter-observer analysis showed that experienced evaluators achieve results at least as accurate if not more accurate using the assisted method than those obtained using manual orientation; while inexperienced evaluators achieved more accurate orientation using the assisted method.The method tested is a an innovative system capable of providing very precise, systematic and automatised spatial orientations of virtual cranial models relative to standardised anatomical planes independent of the operator and operator experience.

Development of a diagrammatic scale for the evaluation of postharvest physiological deterioration in cassava roots

Abstract:The objective of this work was to develop a scale to assess the severity of postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) of cassava roots, and to validate this scale for accuracy and reproducibility estimates. A diagrammatic scale (0 to 100%) for the damaged roots was analyzed according to precision, accuracy, and reproducibility. Seven evaluators (four with experience and three without it) quantified the PPD severity, with or without the scale, considering 150 roots with different levels of PPD. Without and with the use of the scale, respectively, the inexperienced evaluators obtained coefficients of determination (R2) from 0.76 to 0.86 and 0.87 to 0.92, and the experienced evaluators obtained R2 from 0.90 to 0.96 and 0.96 to 0.97. The values of the intercept (a) obtained by both the experienced and inexperienced evaluators who did not use the scale were all significant, while after using the scale, only two evaluators got values that were not significantly different from one. Evaluation reproducibility between the evaluators ranged from 0.61 to 0.91 for the inexperienced ones and from 0.83 to 0.95 for the experienced ones. The proposed diagrammatic scale was considered appropriate to estimate the severity of PPD in cassava roots, and can be used to identify sources of tolerance to postharvest deterioration.

Minimal training is required to reliably perform quantitative ultrasound of muscle

Quantitative ultrasound can measure skeletal muscle pathology. We investigated whether inexperienced evaluators could accurately obtain and analyze ultrasound images. Two examiners underwent a 20-minute training session before obtaining ultrasound images of several limb muscles in 21 healthy boys and 19 boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Gray scale levels (GSLs) of muscle and subcutaneous fat were then measured by 2 analysts: a trained research assistant and a radiologist. We compared results between examiners and analysts. Interrater reliability of muscle GSLs was high between examiners (ICC ≥ 0.85) and analysts (ICC ≥ 0.84). As anticipated, GSLs were higher in dystrophic than in healthy muscles (P < 0.001). Fat GSLs were less reliable (ICC = 0.5-0.89) than muscle and increased with age and body size. GSLs from ultrasound images of healthy and dystrophic skeletal muscle, but not from subcutaneous fat, can be obtained reliably and can be analyzed by inexperienced evaluators with minimal training.

Can Entrepreneurs Believe Their Impressions of Venture Capitalists? Does it Matter? Entrepreneur Evaluations and Network Safety Nets

This paper examines the ability of entrepreneurs to accurately evaluate potential organizational exchange partners. Although there has been significant research on how experienced actors use social ties, status, and information signals to accurately evaluate potential partners, relatively little attention has been given to the abilities of less-experienced actors to accurately evaluate potential partners. I attempt to redress this gap by integrating two distinct logics. First, building on social cognition research into the biases of inexperienced evaluators, I argue that entrepreneurs are generally poor assessors of an alter's partnership abilities. Second, building on social research into the knowledge and influence of brokers, I then argue that entrepreneurs may nonetheless be guided towards better alters by their brokers. I test and find support for these logics in a study of 9,722 entrepreneurs posting anonymous evaluations of 569 venture capitalists to an online forum. Overall, I find that even though entrepreneurs may often be limited in their ability to directly evaluate potential partners, intermediating brokers may act as network safety nets that save entrepreneurs from their own limitations.