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Anti-AAV neutralizing Abs (NAbs) titer is usually measured by cell-based microneutralization (MN) assay and is crucial for patient screening in AAV-based gene therapy clinical trials. However, achieving uniform operation and comparable results among different laboratories remains challenging. Here, we established a standardized MN assay for anti-AAV9 NAbs in human sera or plasma and transferred the method to the other two research teams. Then, we validated its parameters and tested a set of eight human samples in blind across all laboratories. The end-point titer, defined by a transduction inhibition of 50% (IC50), was calculated using curve-fit modelling. A mouse neutralizing monoclonal antibody in human negative serum was used for system quality control (QC), requiring inter-assay titer variation of <4-fold difference or geometric coefficient of variation (%GCV) of <50%. The assay demonstrated a sensitivity of 54 ng/mL and no cross-reactivity to 20 μg/mL anti-AAV8 MoAb. The intra-assay and inter-assay variation for the low positive QC were 7–35% and 22–41%, respectively. The titers of the blind samples showed excellent reproducibility within and among laboratories, with a %GCV of 18–59% and 23–46%, respectively. This study provides a commonly transferrable MN assay for evaluating anti-AAV9 NAbs in humans, supporting its application in clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neck self-awareness, related to sensorimotor dysfunction, can be monitored with the Fremantle Neck Awareness Questionnaire (FreNAQ). The cross-cultural adaptation of the FreNAQ in Greek (FreNAQ-GR) and an assessment of its psychometric properties were conducted. Methods: This study included 104 participants (65 female) with non-specific chronic neck pain (NSCNP). Once the cross-cultural adaptation process of the FreNAQ-GR was complete, the testing of its construct validity was conducted via an exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The construct validity examination also included a correlational analysis with a Pain Intensity Visual Analogue Scale (PI-VAS), the Neck Disability Index (NDI), the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS), and demographics. The internal consistency of the FreNAQ-GR was also examined. A sub-sample of participants (n = 30) completed the FreNAQ-GR again after 5–7 days. Results: The dataset was appropriate for EFA (measure of sampling adequacy KMO = 0.763 and Bartlett's test of sphericity p < 0.001). The FreNAQ-GR demonstrated a single-factor 6-item structure (items 7–9 removed), explaining 53.69% of the common variance. Statistically significant correlations (Spearman's) were registered between the FreNAQ-GR (both versions) and the NDI (r = 0.33/0.29, p < 0.001), the TSK (r = 0.46/0.41, p < 0.001), and the PCS (r = 0.37/0.33, p < 0.001). For the 9-item and the 6-item FreNAQ-GR, the internal consistency (Chronbach's a/McDonald's ω) was 0.80/0.79 and 0.826/0.816, respectively. The test–retest reliability was excellent for both versions ICC2,1 (95% CI) = 0.98/0.98 (0.97–0.99/0.95–0.99), with low error values SEM = 0.90/0.74 and MDC95% = 2.49/2.05 points. Conclusions: The FreNAQ-GR is suitable for assessing neck self-awareness in Greek-speaking patients with NSCNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: White blood cell (WBC) scintigraphy plays a major role in the diagnostic approach to periprosthetic infections. Although the procedure has been standardized by the publication of several guidelines, the interpretation of this technique may be susceptible to intra and inter-variability. We aimed to assess the reproducibility of interpretation between nuclear medicine physicians and by the same physician and to demonstrate that Cohen's coefficient is more unstable than Gwet's coefficient, as the latter is influenced by the prevalence rates. Methods: We enrolled 59 patients who performed a Technetium-99m WBC (99mTc-WBC) scintigraphy for suspected hip or knee prosthesis infection. Three physicians, blinded to all patient clinical data, performed two image readings. Each WBC study was assessed both visually and semi-quantitatively according to the guidelines of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM). For semi-quantitative analysis, readers drew an irregular Region of Interest (ROI) over the suspected infectious lesion and copied it to the normal contralateral bone. The mean counts per ROI were used to calculate lesion-to-reference tissue ( L R ) ratios for both late and delayed images. An increase in L R over time ( L R late > L R delayed ) of more than 20% was considered indicative of infection. Agreement between readers and between readings was assessed by the first-order agreement coefficient (Gwet's AC1). Reading time for each scan was compared between the three readers in both the first and the second reading, using the Generalized Linear Mixed Model. Results: An excellent agreement was found among all three readers: 0.90 for the first reading and 0.94 for the second reading. Both inter- and intra-variability showed values ≥0.86. Gwet's method demonstrated greater robustness than the Cohen coefficient when assessing the intra and inter-rater variability, since it is not influenced by the prevalence rate. Conclusions: These studies can contribute to improving the reliability of nuclear medicine imaging techniques and to evaluating the effectiveness of trainee preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) into e-government applications has the potential to improve public service delivery through advanced data processing and automation. This paper explores critical aspects of a modular and reproducible architecture based on Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for deploying LLM-based assistants within e-government systems. By examining current practices and challenges, we propose a framework ensuring that Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are modular and reproducible, essential for maintaining scalability, transparency, and ethical standards. Our approach utilizing Haystack demonstrates a complete multi-agent Generative AI (GAI) virtual assistant that facilitates scalability and reproducibility by allowing individual components to be independently scaled. This research focuses on a comprehensive review of the existing literature and presents case study examples to demonstrate how such an architecture can enhance public service operations. This framework provides a valuable case study for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners interested in exploring the integration of advanced computational linguistics and LLMs into e-government services, although it could benefit from further empirical validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While interest in using wearable sensors to measure infant leg movement is increasing, attention should be paid to the characteristics of the sensors. Specifically, offset error in the measurement of gravitational acceleration (g) is common among commercially available sensors. In this brief report, we demonstrate how we measured the offset and other errors in three different off-the-shelf wearable sensors available to professionals and how they affected a threshold-based movement detection algorithm for the quantification of infant leg movement. We describe how to calibrate and correct for these offsets and how conducting this improves the reproducibility of results across sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) is currently the preferred method for monitoring left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in cancer patients receiving potentially cardiotoxic anti-neoplastic therapy. In Denmark, however, the traditional standard for LVEF monitoring has been rooted in nuclear medicine departments utilizing equilibrium radionuclide angiography (ERNA). Although ERNA remains a principal modality, there is an emerging trend towards the adoption of echocardiography for this purpose. Given this context, assessing the reproducibility of 3DE among non-specialized medical personnel is crucial for its clinical adoption in such departments. To assess the feasibility of 3DE for LVEF measurements by technologists, we evaluated the repeatability and reproducibility of two moderately experienced technologists. They performed 3DE on 12 volunteers over two sessions, with a collaborative review of the results from the first session before the second session. Two-way intraclass correlation values increased from 0.03 to 0.77 across the sessions. This increase in agreement was mainly due to the recognition of false low measurements. Our findings underscore the importance of incorporating reproducibility exercises in the context of 3DE, especially when operated by technologists. Additionally, routine control of the acquisitions by physicians is deemed necessary. Ensuring these hurdles are adequately managed enables the adoption of 3DE for LVEF measurements by technologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One aspect of reproducibility in preclinical research that is frequently overlooked is the physical condition in which physiological, pharmacological, or behavioural recordings are conducted. In this study, the physical conditions of mice were altered through the attachments of wireless electrophysiological recording devices (Neural Activity Tracker-1, NAT-1). NAT-1 devices are miniaturised multichannel devices with onboard memory for direct high-resolution recording of brain activity for >48 h. Such devices may limit the mobility of animals and affect their behavioural performance due to the added weight (total weight of approximately 3.4 g). The mice were additionally treated with saline (control), N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist MK801 (0.85 mg/kg), or the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor blocker scopolamine (0.65 mg/kg) to allow exploration of the effect of NAT-1 attachments in pharmacologically treated mice. We found only minimal differences in behavioural outcomes with NAT-1 attachments in standard parameters of locomotor activity widely reported for the open field test between the drug treatments. Hypoactivity was globally observed as a consistent outcome in the MK801-treated mice and hyperactivity in scopolamine groups regardless of NAT-1 attachments. These data collectively confirm the reproducibility for combined behavioural, pharmacological, and physiological endpoints even in the presence of lightweight wireless data loggers. The NAT-1 therefore constitutes a pertinent tool for investigating brain activity in, e.g., drug discovery and models of neuropsychiatric and/or neurodegenerative diseases with minimal effects on pharmacological and behavioural outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interoperator variability in the reproducibility of breast lesions found by handheld ultrasound (HHUS) can significantly interfere with clinical care. This study analyzed the features associated with breast mass position differences during HHUS. The ability of operators to reproduce the position of small masses and the time required to generate annotations with and without a computer-assisted scanning device (DEVICE) were also evaluated. This prospective study included 28 patients with 34 benign or probably benign small breast masses. Two operators generated manual and automated position annotations for each mass. The probe and body positions were systematically varied during scanning with the DEVICE, and the features describing mass movement were used in three logistic regression models trained to discriminate small from large breast mass displacements (cutoff: 10 mm). All models successfully discriminated small from large breast mass displacements (areas under the curve: 0.78 to 0.82). The interoperator localization precision was 6.6 ± 2.8 mm with DEVICE guidance and 19.9 ± 16.1 mm with manual annotations. Computer-assisted scanning reduced the time to annotate and reidentify a mass by 33 and 46 s on average, respectively. The results demonstrated that breast mass location reproducibility and exam efficiency improved by controlling operator actionable features with computer-assisted HHUS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emerging zoonotic West Nile virus (WNV) has serious impact on public health. Thus, understanding the molecular basis of WNV infections in mammalian hosts is important to develop improved diagnostic and treatment strategies. In this context, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) has been analyzed by several studies under different conditions and with different outcomes. A systematic comparison is therefore necessary. Furthermore, additional information from mRNA target expression data has rarely been taken into account to understand miRNA expression profiles under WNV infections. We conducted a meta-analysis of publicly available miRNA expression data from multiple independent studies, and analyzed them in a harmonized way to increase comparability. In addition, we used gene-set tests on mRNA target expression data to further gain evidence about differentially expressed miRNAs. For this purpose, we also studied the use of target information from different databases. We detected a substantial number of miRNA that emerged as differentially expressed from several miRNA datasets, and from the mRNA target data analysis as well. When using mRNA target data, we found that the targetscan databases provided the most useful information. We demonstrated improved miRNA detection through research synthesis of multiple independent miRNA datasets coupled with mRNA target set testing, leading to the discovery of multiple miRNAs which should be taken into account for further research on the molecular mechanism of WNV infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wound-healing process is a physiological response that begins after a disruption to the integrity of tissues present in the skin. To understand the intricacies involved in this process, many groups have tried to develop different in vitro models; however, the lack of a systemic response has, until this day, been the major barrier to the establishment of these models as the main study platform. Therefore, in vivo models are still the most common system for studying healing responses following different treatments, especially porcine models, which share several morphological similarities to the human skin. In this work, we developed a porcine excisional wound model and used semi-automated software as a strategy to generate quantitative morphometric results of healing responses by specific tissues and compartments. Our aim was to extract the most information from the model while producing reliable, reproducible, and standardized results. In order to achieve this, we established a 7-day treatment using a bacterial cellulose dressing as our standard for all the analyzed wounds. The thickness of the residual dermis under the wound (DUtW) bed was shown to influence the healing outcome, especially for the regeneration of epidermal tissue, including the wound closure rate. The analysis of the DUtW throughout the entire dorsal region of the animals opened up the possibility of establishing a map that will facilitate the experimental design of future works, increasing their standardization and reproducibility and ultimately reducing the number of animals needed. Thus, the developed model, together with the automated morphometric analysis approach used, offers the possibility to generate robust quantitative results with a rapid turnaround time while allowing the study of multiple extra morphometric parameters, creating a more holistic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquasols produced by exploding copper wires represent complex systems in which identifying individual colloidal components poses challenges due to broad and multimodal size distributions and varying shares among oxidation states. To evaluate the reproducibility of copper wire explosion, the size distribution of metallic and oxidized colloidal components within the 10–300 nm diameter range was assessed. Classification of each individual particle into bins according to size and chemical composition was accomplished by reconstructing the recorded optical extinction spectra of three sols produced under identical conditions as the weighted sum of the extinction spectra of individual copper and copper-oxide particles, computed using Mie theory. Our spectrophotometry-based component analysis revealed differences in particle number concentrations of the mainly oxidized nanoparticles, corresponding to deviations observed in the ultraviolet portion of the extinction spectra. Notable uniformity was observed, however, in the number of metallic fine particles, consistent with agreement in spectral features in the visible range. Regarding mass concentration, practically no differences were observed among the three samples, with nano-to-fine ratios of copper particles agreeing within 0.45%. Despite the complex processes during explosion leading to limited reproducibility in the ratio of different copper oxidation states, very good reproducibility (54.2 ± 0.7%) was found when comparing the total copper content of the samples to the mass of the exploded copper wire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality-initiative analysis of weekly duplicate PEAPOD® body composition measurements was conducted from clinical practice (January to September 2021) on preterm and term infants without respiratory support. Statistical analysis, including regression analysis, Bland–Altman plots and cv-root-mean-square tests, was performed. A total of 188 duplicate (376 individual) measurements were collected from 119 infants (88 preterm, 31 term). The median absolute difference between duplicates was 31.5 g for fat-free mass (FFM). Linear correlation analysis showed R2 = 0.97 for FFM. The absolute differences in FFM and fat mass did not significantly correlate with increasing age. The %FFM differed (p = 0.02) across body weight groups of 1 kg < BW ≤ 2 kg (1.8%; IQR: 0.8, 3.6) and BW > 3 kg (0.9%; IQR: 0.3, 2.1). The median absolute differences were 1 g (IQR: 0.4, 3.1) for body weight and 5.6 mL (IQR: 2.1, 11.8) for body volume. Body volume estimation is charged with a constant absolute error, which is the main factor for differences between repeated body composition assessments. This error becomes more prominent in infants with lower body weights. Nevertheless, reproducibility of weekly PEAPOD testing is sufficient to monitor body compartment changes, offering a foundation for nutritional decisions in both preterm and term infants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The aim was to validate an AI-based system compared to the classic method of reading ultrasound images of the rectus femur (RF) muscle in a real cohort of patients with disease-related malnutrition. (2) Methods: One hundred adult patients with DRM aged 18 to 85 years were enrolled. The risk of DRM was assessed by the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM). The variation, reproducibility, and reliability of measurements for the RF subcutaneous fat thickness (SFT), muscle thickness (MT), and cross-sectional area (CSA), were measured conventionally with the incorporated tools of a portable ultrasound imaging device (method A) and compared with the automated quantification of the ultrasound imaging system (method B). (3) Results: Measurements obtained using method A (i.e., conventionally) and method B (i.e., raw images analyzed by AI), showed similar values with no significant differences in absolute values and coefficients of variation, 58.39–57.68% for SFT, 30.50–28.36% for MT, and 36.50–36.91% for CSA, respectively. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for reliability and consistency analysis between methods A and B showed correlations of 0.912 and 95% CI [0.872–0.940] for SFT, 0.960 and 95% CI [0.941–0.973] for MT, and 0.995 and 95% CI [0.993–0.997] for CSA; the Bland–Altman Analysis shows that the spread of points is quite uniform around the bias lines with no evidence of strong bias for any variable. (4) Conclusions: The study demonstrated the consistency and reliability of this new automatic system based on machine learning and AI for the quantification of ultrasound imaging of the muscle architecture parameters of the rectus femoris muscle compared with the conventional method of measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrode is a key component in a microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) that needs significant improvement for practical implementation. Accurate and reproducible analytical methods are substantial for the effective development of electrode technology. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) is an essential analytical method for evaluating electrode performance. In this study, inoculated carbon brush (IB), abiotic brush (AB), Pt wire (PtW), stainless steel wire (SSW), and mesh (SSM) were tested to find the most suitable counter electrode under different medium conditions. The coefficient of variation (Cv) of maximum current (Imax) was the most decisive indicator of the reproducibility test. This study shows that (i) the electrode used in operation is an appropriate counter electrode in an acetate-added condition, (ii) the anode LSV test should avoid the use of Pt wire as counter electrodes, and (iii) PtW is an appropriate counter electrode in cathode LSV in all conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to determine the absolute and relative reliability of concentric and eccentric flexion, extension, horizontal abduction, and adduction movements of the shoulder using a functional electromechanical dynamometer (FEMD). Forty-three active male university students (23.51 ± 4.72 years) were examined for concentric and eccentric strength of shoulder flexion, extension, horizontal abduction, and horizontal adduction with an isokinetic test at 0.80 m·s−1. Relative reliability was determined by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) with 95% confidence intervals. Absolute reliability was quantified by the standard error of measurement (SEM) and coefficient of variation (CV). Reliability was very high to extremely high for all movements on concentric and eccentric strength measurements (ICC: 0.76–0.94, SEM: 0.63–6.57%, CV: 9.40–19.63%). The results of this study provide compelling evidence for the absolute and relative reliability of concentric and eccentric flexion, extension, horizontal abduction, and horizontal adduction shoulder isokinetic strength tests in asymptomatic adults. The mean concentric force was the most reliable strength value for all tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to validate a semiquantitative electronic food frequency questionnaire (eFFQ) in estimating the intake of a comprehensive list of nutrients and bioactive compounds among adults from six regions of Argentina using multiple 24 h dietary recall (24HR) as a reference. A total of 163 adults completed two administrations of the eFFQ and four 24HRs. The paired t-test/Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Spearman/Pearson correlations, cross-classification, weighted kappa statistics, and Bland–Altman plots were employed to determine relative validity. To determine reproducibility, intraclass correlations (ICC), cross-classification, and weighted kappa statistics were calculated. For relative validity, crude correlations ranged from 0.15 to 0.57; energy adjustment and de-attenuation slightly improved most of these correlations. In cross-classification analysis, agreements within one quintile adjacent to exact agreement (EA ± 1) ranged from 52.2% to ~74%; extreme misclassifications were < 7%. For reproducibility, the crude ICC ranged from 0.29 to 0.85, showing moderate to good correlations for most nutrients. Cross-classification analysis showed agreement levels for the EA ± 1 quintile of 70.6% to 87.7%. Weighted kappa values ranged from 0.21 to 0.62. The results show that this eFFQ is relatively valid in ranking adults according to their nutrient intake and has an acceptable reproducibility, yet it slightly overestimates the intake of most nutrients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the energy transition, energy and energy efficiency are becoming more and more important in society. New methods, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) models, are needed to coordinate supply and demand and address the challenges of the energy transition. AI and ML are already being applied to a growing number of energy infrastructure applications, ranging from energy generation to energy forecasting and human activity recognition services. Given the rapid development of AI and ML, the importance of Trustworthy AI is growing as it takes on increasingly responsible tasks. Particularly in the energy domain, Trustworthy AI plays a decisive role in designing and implementing efficient and reliable solutions. Trustworthy AI can be considered from two perspectives, the Model-Centric AI (MCAI) and the Data-Centric AI (DCAI) approach. We focus on the DCAI approach, which relies on large amounts of data of sufficient quality. These data are becoming more and more synthetically generated. To address this trend, we introduce the concept of Synthetic Data-Centric AI (SDCAI). In this survey, we examine Trustworthy AI within a Synthetic Data-Centric AI context, focusing specifically on the role of simulation and synthetic data in enhancing the level of Trustworthy AI in the energy domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Increasing reproducibility for active learning-aided systematic screening is essential and our checklist can be used to evaluate reproducibility and data efficiency of software. In the screening phase of a systematic review, screening prioritization via active learning effectively reduces the workload. However, the PRISMA guidelines are not sufficient for reporting the screening phase in a reproducible manner. Text screening with active learning is an iterative process, but the labeling decisions and the training of the active learning model can happen independently of each other in time. Therefore, it is not trivial to store the data from both events so that one can still know which iteration of the model was used for each labeling decision. Moreover, many iterations of the active learning model will be trained throughout the screening process, producing an enormous amount of data (think of many gigabytes or even terabytes of data), and machine learning models are continually becoming larger. This article clarifies the steps in an active learning-aided screening process and what data is produced at every step. We consider what reproducibility means in this context and we show that there is tension between the desire to be reproducible and the amount of data that is stored. Finally, we present the RDAL Checklist (Reproducibility and Data storage for Active Learning-Aided Systematic Reviews Checklist), which helps users and creators of active learning software make their screening process reproducible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in an individual's digestive system, hormones, senses of smell and taste, and energy requirement accompanying aging could lead to impaired appetite, but older adults may not notice their risk of nutrient deficiency. When assessing the dietary intake of older adults, it was found that they had more difficulties with short-term recall and open-ended recall and would experience greater fatigue and frustration when compared to younger individuals when completing a lengthy questionnaire. There is a need to develop a brief dietary assessment tool to examine the nutritional needs of older adults. In this study, we aimed to assess the diet of Hong Kong older adults using the short FFQ and examine its reproducibility and relative validity as a dietary assessment tool. Dietary data of 198 older adults were collected via FFQs and three-day dietary records. Correlation analyses, cross-tabulation, one-sample t-tests, and linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the relative validity of the short FFQ. In general, the short FFQ was accurate in assessing the intake of phosphorus, water, grains, and wine, as shown by a significant correlation (>0.7) between values reported in the FFQs and dietary records; good agreement (more than 50% of observations belonged to the same quartile) and insignificant differences detected with the one-sample t-tests and linear regression analyses were observed for the above four variables. Additionally, the intake of proteins, carbohydrates, total fat, magnesium, and eggs in terms of the values reported in the FFQs and dietary records showed good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of production parameters on the reproducibility of kombucha fermentation over several production cycles based on backslopping. Six conditions with varying oxygen accessibility (specific interface surface) and initial acidity (through the inoculation rate) of the cultures were carried out and compared to an original kombucha consortium and a synthetic consortium assembled from yeasts and bacteria isolated from the original culture. Output parameters monitored were microbial populations, biofilm weight, key physico-chemical parameters and metabolites. Results highlighted the existence of phases in microbial dynamics as backslopping cycles progressed. The transitions between phases occurred faster for the synthetic consortium compared to the original kombucha. This led to microbial dynamics and fermentative kinetics that were reproducible over several cycles but that could also deviate and shift abruptly to different behaviors. These changes were mainly induced by an increase in the Saccharomyces cerevisiae population, associated with an intensification of sucrose hydrolysis, sugar consumption and an increase in ethanol content, without any significant acceleration in the rate of acidification. The study suggests that the reproducibility of kombucha fermentations relies on high biodiversity to slow down the modulations of microbial dynamics induced by the sustained rhythm of backslopping cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this work was to assess the accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of a hand-held, structured-light 3D scanner (EINScan Pro 2X Plus with High Definition Prime Pack, SHINING 3D Tech. Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, China), to support its potential use in multi-site settings on lower limb prosthetics. Four limb models with different shapes were fabricated and scanned with a metrological 3D scanner (EINScan Laser FreeScan 5X, SHINING 3D Tech. Co., Ltd., Hangzhou, China) by a professional operator (OP0). Limb models were then mailed to three sites where two operators (OP1, OP2) scanned them using their own structured-light 3D scanner (same model). OP1 scanned limb models twice (OP1-A, OP1-B). OP0, OP1-A, and OP2 scans were compared for accuracy, OP1-A and OP1-B for repeatability, and OP1-A and OP2 for reproducibility. Among all comparisons, the mean radial error was <0.25 mm, mean angular error was <4°, and root mean square error of the radial distance was <1 mm. Moreover, limits of agreement were <3.5% for perimeters and volumes. By comparing these results with respect to clinically-relevant thresholds and to the literature available on other 3D scanners, we conclude that the EINScan Pro 2X Plus 3D Scanner with High Definition Prime Pack has good accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility, supporting its use in multi-site settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to the curative resection of colorectal carcinoma (CRC) or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the exclusion of hepatic metastasis using cross-sectional imaging is mandatory. The Doppler perfusion index (DPI) of the liver is a promising method for detecting occult liver metastases, but the underlying visceral duplex sonography is critically viewed in terms of its reproducibility. The aim of this study was to investigate systematically the reproducibility of the measured variables, the calculated blood flow, and the DPI. Between February and September 2023, two examinations were performed on 80 subjects within a period of 0–30 days and at two previously defined quality levels, aligned to the German standards of the DEGUM. Correlation analyses were carried out using Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The diameters, blood flow, and DPI showed a high degree of agreement (PCC of 0.9 and ICC of 0.9 for AHP). Provided that a precise standard of procedure is adhered to, the Doppler examination of AHC, AHP, and PV yields very reproducible blood flows and DPI, which is a prerequisite for a comprehensive investigation of its prognostic value for the prediction of metachronous hepatic metastasis in the context of curatively treated CRC or PDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying an imaging modality's ability to reproduce results is important for establishing its utility. In magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), new acquisition protocols are regularly introduced which improve upon their precursors with respect to signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), total acquisition duration, and nominal voxel resolution. This study has quantified the within-subject and between-subject reproducibility of one such new protocol (reduced-field-of-view density-weighted concentric ring trajectory (rFOV-DW-CRT) MRSI) by calculating the coefficient of variance of data acquired from a test–retest experiment. The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the right superior corona radiata (SCR) were selected as the regions of interest (ROIs) for grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM), respectively. CVs for between-subject and within-subject were consistently around or below 15% for Glx, tCho, and Myo-Ins, and below 5% for tNAA and tCr. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of quality assurance, the significance of statistical measurement studies cannot be overstated, particularly when it comes to quantifying the diverse sources of variation in measurement processes. However, the complexity intensifies when addressing 3D topography data. This research introduces an intuitive similarity-based framework tailored for conducting measurement studies on 3D topography data, aiming to precisely quantify distinct sources of variation through the astute application of similarity evaluation techniques. In the proposed framework, we investigate the mean and variance of the similarity between 3D surface topography measurements to reveal the uniformity of the surface topography measurements and statistical reproducibility of the similarity evaluation procedure, respectively. The efficacy of our framework is vividly demonstrated through its application to measurements derived from additive-fabricated specimens. We considered four metal specimens with 20 segmented windows in total. The topography measurements were obtained by three operators using two scanning systems. We find that the repeatability variation of the topography measurements and the reproducibility variation in the measurements induced by operators are relatively smaller compared with the variation in the measurements induced by optical scanners. We also notice that the variation in the surface geometry of different surfaces is much larger in magnitude compared with the repeatability variation in the topography measurements. Our findings are consistent with the physical intuition and previous research. The ensuing experimental studies yield compelling evidence, affirming that our devised methods are adept at providing profound insights into the multifaceted sources of variation inherent in processes utilizing 3D surface topography data. This innovative framework not only showcases its applicability but also underlines its potential to significantly contribute to the field of quality assurance. By offering a systematic approach to measuring and comprehending variation in 3D topography data, it stands poised to become an indispensable tool in diverse quality assurance contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The objective of this study was to assess which digitization method produces the biggest deviation in the 3D images of tooth size from plaster models made using alginate impressions, which are considered the gold standard in orthodontics. (2) Methods: The sample used in this study included 30 subjects (10 males and 20 females). Measurements were made on four types of models: (1) digital models obtained through intraoral scanning and digitized models of plaster cast made from (2) alginate impressions, (3) silicone impressions, and (4) conventional plaster models. Mesio-distal (MD) and buccal/labial–lingual/palatal (BL) dimensions were measured on the reference teeth of the right side of the jaw (central incisor, canine, first premolar, and first molar). Comparisons of tooth size between the methods were conducted using a repeated measurement analysis of variance and the Friedman test, while the intraclass correlation coefficient was used to determine agreement between the different methods. (3) Results: The results showed a similar level of agreement between the conventional and digital models in both jaws and the anterior, middle, and posterior segments. Better agreement was found for the MD measurements (r = 0.337–0.798; p ≤ 0.05) compared to the BL measurements (r = 0.016–0.542), with a smaller mean difference for MD (0.001–0.50 mm) compared to BL (0.02–1.48 mm) and a smaller measurement error for MD (0.20–0.39) compared to BL (0.38–0.89). There was more frequently a better level of agreement between 3D images than measurements made using a digital caliper on the plaster models with 3D images. (4) Conclusions: The differences in measurements between the digital models and conventional plaster models were small and clinically acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproducibility refers to getting bitwise identical floating point results from multiple runs of the same program, is an important basis for debugging or correctness checking in many codes. However the round-off error and non-associativity of floating point makes attaining reproducibility a challenge in large-scale, long-term parallel computing or solving ill conditioned problems. The dgbmv performs general banded matrix-vector multiplication for double precision, is the most basic Level-2 operation in BLAS. First, we designed a reproducible algorithm for banded matrix-vector multiplication repro _ dgbmv based on the technique of error-free transformation. Then the error of the algorithm is analyzed. Second, the algorithm is parallelized into repro _ dgbmv _ thread on ARM and x86 platforms. The numerical test results verify that repro _ dgbmv _ thread is reproducible and has higher accuracy than ordinary dgbmv. In numerical experiments on ARM platform, as the number of threads increases from 1 to 8, the run time of this algorithm is reduced by 5.2–7 times, while the run time of multithreaded dgbmv is only reduced by 2.2–3.8 times. In numerical experiments on x86 platform, as the number of threads increases from 1 to 15, the run time of this algorithm is reduced by 7.7–10.6 times, while the run time of multithreaded dgbmv is only reduced by 4.2–6.8 times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the between-session reliability of the FysioMeter H-station when measuring isometric quadriceps and hamstrings strength and H/Q (hamstring/quadriceps) ratio, and the concurrent validity when compared to an isokinetic dynamometer (ID). Sixteen young males and three females (25.6 ± 1.7 years old) performed maximum quadriceps and hamstring contractions using the H-station and the Humac NORM ID over two sessions. Between-session reliability was evaluated by comparing scores from the first and the second session. Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing scores from the H-station with the Humac NORM ID. The H-station showed excellent relative reliability for the quadriceps, hamstring, and the H/Q ratio with ICC2.1 ranging from 0.89 to 0.91. The relative reliability of the Humac NORM was good to moderate for the quadriceps, hamstring, and the H/Q ratio with ICC2.1 ranging from 0.89 to 0.91. Acceptable absolute reliability of the H-station was found across quadriceps, hamstring, and H/Q measures (coefficient of variance (CV) = 7.2 to 9.3%, limit of agreement (LOA) = 20.0 to 24.3%). The validity of the H-station was large for hamstring strength (r = 0.79) and moderate for quadriceps strength (r = 0.69) and H/Q ratio (r = 0.39) compared to the Humac NORM ID. Bland–Altman plots showed LOAs ranging from 37.9 to 59.5%. The results indicate that the H-station can be used to make reliable assessments of relative changes in maximum isometric quadriceps and hamstring strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of bacteriophages (phages) as active pharmaceutical ingredients for the treatment of patients is on its way and regulatory agencies are calling for reliable methods to assess phage potency. As the number of phage banks is increasing, so is the number of phages that need to be tested to identify therapeutic candidates. Currently, assessment of phage potency on a semi-solid medium to observe plaque-forming units is unavoidable and proves to be labor intensive when considering dozens of phage candidates. Here, we present a method based on automated pipetting and phage drop-off performed by a liquid-handling robot, allowing high-throughput testing and phage potency determination (based on phage titer and efficiency of plaquing). Ten phages were tested, individually and assembled into one cocktail, against 126 Escherichia coli strains. This automated method was compared to the reference one (manual assay) and validated in terms of reproducibility and concordance (ratio of results according to the Bland and Altman method: 0.99; Lin's concordance correlation coefficient: 0.86). We found that coefficients of variation were lower with automated pipetting (mean CV: 13.3% vs. 24.5%). Beyond speeding up the process of phage screening, this method could be used to standardize phage potency evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Radiomics shows promising results in supporting the clinical decision process, and much effort has been put into its standardization, thus leading to the Imaging Biomarker Standardization Initiative (IBSI), that established how radiomics features should be computed. However, radiomics still lacks standardization and many factors, such as segmentation methods, limit study reproducibility and robustness. Aim: We investigated the impact that three different segmentation methods (manual, thresholding and region growing) have on radiomics features extracted from 18F-PSMA-1007 Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images of 78 patients (43 Low Risk, 35 High Risk). Segmentation was repeated for each patient, thus leading to three datasets of segmentations. Then, feature extraction was performed for each dataset, and 1781 features (107 original, 930 Laplacian of Gaussian (LoG) features, 744 wavelet features) were extracted. Feature robustness and reproducibility were assessed through the intra class correlation coefficient (ICC) to measure agreement between the three segmentation methods. To assess the impact that the three methods had on machine learning models, feature selection was performed through a hybrid descriptive-inferential method, and selected features were given as input to three classifiers, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Random Forest (RF), AdaBoost and Neural Networks (NN), whose performance in discriminating between low-risk and high-risk patients have been validated through 30 times repeated five-fold cross validation. Conclusions: Our study showed that segmentation methods influence radiomics features and that Shape features were the least reproducible (average ICC: 0.27), while GLCM features the most reproducible. Moreover, feature reproducibility changed depending on segmentation type, resulting in 51.18% of LoG features exhibiting excellent reproducibility (range average ICC: 0.68–0.87) and 47.85% of wavelet features exhibiting poor reproducibility that varied between wavelet sub-bands (range average ICC: 0.34–0.80) and resulted in the LLL band showing the highest average ICC (0.80). Finally, model performance showed that region growing led to the highest accuracy (74.49%), improved sensitivity (84.38%) and AUC (79.20%) in contrast with manual segmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of modern science takes place in a computational environment, and, increasingly, that environment is programmed using R, Python, or Julia. Furthermore, most scientific data now live on the cloud, so the first step in many workflows is to query a cloud database and load the response into a computational environment for further analysis. Thus, tools that facilitate programmatic data retrieval represent a critical component in reproducible scientific workflows. Earth science is no different in this regard. To fulfill that basic need, we developed R, Python, and Julia packages providing programmatic access to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Information System database and the multi-agency Water Quality Portal. Together, these packages create a common interface for retrieving hydrologic data in the Jupyter ecosystem, which is widely used in water research, operations, and teaching. Source code, documentation, and tutorials for the packages are available on GitHub. Users can go there to learn, raise issues, or contribute improvements within a single platform, which helps foster better engagement and collaboration between data providers and their users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The worldwide popularisation of running as a sport and recreational practice has led to a high rate of musculoskeletal injuries, usually caused by a lack of knowledge about the most suitable running technique for each runner. This running technique is determined by a runner's anthropometric body characteristics, dexterity and skill. Therefore, this study aims to develop a motion capture-based running analysis test on a treadmill called KeepRunning to obtain running patterns rapidly, which will aid coaches and clinicians in assessing changes in running technique considering changes in the study variables. Therefore, a review and proposal of the most representative events and variables of analysis in running was conducted to develop the KeepRunning test. Likewise, the minimal detectable change (MDC) in these variables was obtained using test–retest reliability to demonstrate the reproducibility and viability of the test, as well as the use of MDC as a threshold for future assessments. The test–retest consisted of 32 healthy volunteer athletes with a running training routine of at least 15 km per week repeating the test twice. In each test, clusters of markers were placed on the runners' body segments using elastic bands and the volunteers' movements were captured while running on a treadmill. In this study, reproducibility was defined by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and MDC, obtaining a mean value of ICC = 0.94 ± 0.05 for all variables and MDC = 2.73 ± 1.16° for the angular kinematic variables. The results obtained in the test–retest reveal that the reproducibility of the test was similar or better than that found in the literature. KeepRunning is a running analysis test that provides data from the involved body segments rapidly and easily interpretable. This data allows clinicians and coaches to objectively provide indications for runners to improve their running technique and avoid possible injury. The proposed test can be used in the future with inertial motion capture and other wearable technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) of theta and gamma rhythms of the brain has been observed in animals and humans, with evidence of its involvement in cognitive functions and brain disorders. This motivates finding individual frequencies of maximal theta-gamma coupling (TGC) and using them to adjust brain stimulation. This use implies the stability of the frequencies at least during the investigation, which has not been sufficiently studied. Meanwhile, there is a range of available algorithms for PAC estimation in the literature. We explored several options at different steps of the calculation, applying the resulting algorithms to the EEG data of 16 healthy subjects performing the n-back working memory task, as well as a benchmark recording with previously reported strong PAC. By comparing the results for the two halves of each session, we estimated reproducibility at a time scale of a few minutes. For the benchmark data, the results were largely similar between the algorithms and stable over time. However, for the EEG, the results depended substantially on the algorithm, while also showing poor reproducibility, challenging the validity of using them for personalizing brain stimulation. Further research is needed on the PAC estimation algorithms, cognitive tasks, and other aspects to reliably determine and effectively use TGC parameters in neuromodulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R is one of the most powerful programming languages for conducting data analysis, modeling, and visualization. Although it is widely utilized in biodiversity conservation research, the comprehensive trends in R and R package usage and patterns in the field still remain unexplored. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of R and R package usage frequencies spanning fifteen years, from 2008 to 2022, encompassing over 24,100 research articles published in eight top biodiversity conservation journals. Within this extensive dataset, 10,220 articles (42.3% of the total) explicitly utilized R for data analysis. The use ratio of R demonstrated a consistent linear growth, escalating from 11.1% in 2008 to an impressive 70.6% in 2022. The ten top utilized R packages were vegan, lme4, MuMIn, nlme, mgcv, raster, MASS, ggplot2, car, and dismo. The frequency of R package utilization varied among journals, underscoring the distinct emphases each journal places on specific focuses of biodiversity conservation research. This analysis highlights the pivotal role of R, with its powerful statistical and data visualization capabilities, in empowering researchers to conduct in-depth analyses and gain comprehensive insights into various dimensions of biodiversity conservation science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in industrialization and human population is leading to critical levels of environmental pollutants, such as agrochemicals or heavy metals, which affect the preservation and integrity of ecosystems, the accessibility to drinking water sources, and the quality of the air. As such, remediation of these issues demands strategies for implementing and designing novel technologies. In that regard, nanomaterials have unique physicochemical properties that make them desirable candidates for the detection and remediation of environmental pollutants. The scope of this review is to provide an analysis of the available nanomaterials that are being used as an approach to detect and remediate hazardous residues, comprising systems such as noble metals, biosensors, cyclodextrin-based polymers, and graphene oxide nanocomposites, to name a few. Furthermore, this work discusses said nanomaterials in terms of their effectiveness, sustainability, and selectivity as a guideline for researchers wishing to indulge in this relevant study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In radiomics, utilizing features extracted from pretrained deep networks could result in models with a higher predictive performance than those relying on hand-crafted features. This study compared the predictive performance of models trained with either deep features, hand-crafted features, or a combination of these features in terms of the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) and other metrics. We trained models on ten radiological datasets using five feature selection methods and three classifiers. Our results indicate that models based on deep features did not show an improved AUC compared to those utilizing hand-crafted features (deep: AUC 0.775, hand-crafted: AUC 0.789; p = 0.28). Including morphological features alongside deep features led to overall improvements in prediction performance for all models (+0.02 gain in AUC; p < 0.001); however, the best model did not benefit from this (+0.003 gain in AUC; p = 0.57). Using all hand-crafted features in addition to the deep features resulted in a further overall improvement (+0.034 in AUC; p < 0.001), but only a minor improvement could be observed for the best model (deep: AUC 0.798, hand-crafted: AUC 0.789; p = 0.92). Furthermore, our results show that models based on deep features extracted from networks pretrained on medical data have no advantage in predictive performance over models relying on features extracted from networks pretrained on ImageNet data. Our study contributes a benchmarking analysis of models trained on hand-crafted and deep features from pretrained networks across multiple datasets. It also provides a comprehensive understanding of their applicability and limitations in radiomics. Our study shows, in conclusion, that models based on features extracted from pretrained deep networks do not outperform models trained on hand-crafted ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Method for the Integrated Assessment of Risks for rainforest (MIARforest) is a specific methodology for assessing the risk of occupational accidents associated with working in native tropical forests. MIARforest was validated for the results' reproducibility and the reliability of calculated risk levels through the Delphi approach. Two rounds of questionnaires illustrating ten scenarios of activities associated with the logging process in the Eastern Amazon's native rainforest (Brazil) were presented to forestry and occupational health and safety (OHS) experts. In the first round, the questionnaire was answered anonymously by 55 experts, and in the second, by 46. A percentage of agreement of at least 80% in each question was considered to close the process. Questions that did not meet the criterion in the first round were reassessed in the second round. The obtained results lead to the conclusion that MIARforest, an occupational accident risk assessment tool, has been effectively validated, demonstrating inter-rater reproducibility and reliability in determining risk values. These results highlight the objectivity and reliability of MIARforest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study evaluated the agreement and reproducibility of ACA measurements obtained using the built-in software of the CASIA2 (Version 3G.1) and the measurements derived from expert clinicians. Methods: Healthy volunteers underwent ophthalmological evaluation and AS-OCT examination. ACA measurements derived from automated and manual SS location were obtained using the CASIA2 automated software and clinician identification, respectively. The intraobserver, interobserver reproducibility, CASIA2–human grader reproducibility and CASIA2 repeatability were assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Results: The study examined 58 eyes of 30 participants. The CASIA2 software showed excellent repeatability for all ACA parameters (ICC > 0.84). Intraobserver, interobserver, and CASIA2–human grader reproducibility were also excellent (ICC > 0.87). Interobserver agreement was high, except for nasal TISA500, differing between observers 1 and 2 (p < 0.05). The agreement between CASIA2 measurements and human graders was high, except for nasal TISA500, where observer 1 values were smaller (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The CASIA2 built-in software reliably measures ACA parameters in healthy individuals, demonstrating high consistency. Although a small difference was observed in nasal TISA500 measurements, interobserver and CASIA2–human grader reproducibility remained excellent. Automated SS detection has the potential to facilitate evaluation and monitoring of primary angle closure disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selected patients with early-stage melanoma have a "hidden high risk" of poor oncologic outcomes. They might benefit from clinical trials, and ultimately, if warranted by trial results, judicious everyday use of adjuvant therapy. A promising tool to identify these individuals is the immunoprint® assay. This immunohistochemical 7-biomarker prognostic test was clinically validated in three independent cohorts (N = 762) to classify early-stage patients as high-risk or low-risk regarding melanoma recurrence and mortality. Using College of American Pathologists (CAP) recommendations, we analytically validated this assay in primary melanoma specimens (N = 20 patients). We assessed assay precision by determining consistency of risk classification under repeated identical conditions (repeatability) or across varying conditions (reproducibility), involving separate assay runs, operators (laboratory scientists), and/or observers (e.g., dermatopathologists). Reference classification was followed by five analytical validation phases: intra-run/intra-operator, intra-observer, inter-run, inter-operator, and inter-observer. Concordance of classifications in each phase was assessed via Fleiss' kappa (primary endpoint) and percent agreement (secondary endpoint). Seven-marker signature classification demonstrated high consistency across validation categories (Fleiss' kappa 0.864–1.000; overall percent agreement 95–100%), in 9/10 cases, exceeding, and in 1/10 cases, closely approaching, CAP's recommended 0.9 level. The 7-marker assay has now been verified to provide excellent repeatability, reproducibility, and precision, besides having been clinically validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessing the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is crucial for reducing obesity; however, a simple but relatively accurate method for determining added sugar consumption among school adolescents is lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and validity of a food group-based food frequency questionnaire (FG-FFQ) for SSBs in assessing SSB consumption and added sugar among middle-school students. A total of 242 school students completed the FG-FFQs twice and four discontinuous 24-h dietary records (24HDR) over a three-month period. A weighted average approach was used to obtain the average sugar content in the sugary drink food group (FG). Correlation coefficient, weighted kappa statistic, misclassification analysis, and Bland–Altman plot were used to evaluate the validity and reproducibility of the FG-FFQ. Linear regression was utilized to obtain the calibration formulas. The average content of added sugar in sugary drink FG was 8.1 g/100 mL. SSB consumption frequency, consumption amount, and added sugar had correlation coefficients of 0.81, 0.87, and 0.87, respectively, in the validity analysis (p < 0.05). The majority of scatter plots were covered by 95% confidence intervals in the Bland–Altman bias analysis. The intra-class correlation coefficient of SSB consumption frequency and Spearman correlation coefficient of SSB consumption amount and added sugar were 0.74, 0.81, and 0.90, respectively, in the reproducibility analysis (p < 0.05). Results produced by the FG-FFQ calibration formula were more comparable to 24HDR. The FG-FFQ for SSB consumption showed acceptable validity and reproducibility, making it a viable instrument for epidemiological studies on sugary drinks in adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shoulder pain is one of the most common musculoskeletal pathologies. The association of shoulder pain with impaired proprioception and bodily self-awareness called for the cross-cultural adaptation of the Fremantle Shoulder Awareness Questionnaire (FreSHAQ) in Greek. The FreSHAQ is a relatively new self-assessment 9-item scale for impaired somatic awareness in patients with shoulder pain. The study included 100 participants (54 women) between 20 and 80 years old, with chronic shoulder pain (>3 months duration), able to comprehend and speak Greek, and recruited from three private physical therapy practices. The cross-cultural adaptation process was followed to develop the Greek version of the questionnaire (FreSHAQ-GR). Further testing for construct validity via exploratory factor analysis and correlational analysis with the Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), the Quick Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (QuickDASH), the pain catastrophizing scale (PCS), a pain intensity visual analog scale (PI-VAS) in the last week, and the demographic characteristics followed. Test–retest reliability of the FreSHAQ-GR in a sub-sample of patients (n = 25) was tested upon repeated completion of the scale after a week and examined with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1), the standard error of the measurement (SEM), and the minimum detectable change (MDC) indices. The internal consistency of the scale was also assessed. The factor analysis revealed that the scale comprised one factor relevant to shoulder awareness but with fewer items (first 6 items) than the original FreSHAQ. Additionally, the FreSHAQ-GR (both versions) demonstrated statistically significant correlations (Spearman's r) with participants' age (r = −0.31/−0.29, p < 0.002), the PI-VAS (r = 0.54/0.52, p < 0.001), the SPADI total score and both of its subscales (r = 0.39–0.45/0.34–0.39, p < 0.001), the QuickDASH (r = 0.37/0.34, p < 0.001), and the PCS (r = 0.50/0.40, p < 0.001). The questionnaire's internal consistency (Cronbach's α/McDonald's ω) was 0.833/0.827 for the 9-item and 0.871/0.867 for the 6-item FreSHAQ-GR. Test–retest reliability was excellent for both versions of the FreSHAQ-GR (ICC2,1(95% CI) = 0.97/0.98 (0.91–0.99/0.94–0.99), and with a low error margin (SEM = 1.31/0.94 and MDC95% = 3.63/2.61). Therefore, the FreSHAQ-GR (6-item version) possesses very good measurement properties and can be administered to Greek-speaking patients with chronic shoulder pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bland–Altman limits of agreement are very popular in method comparison studies on quantitative outcomes. However, a straightforward application of Bland–Altman analysis requires roughly normally distributed differences, a constant bias, and variance homogeneity across the measurement range. If one or more assumptions are violated, a variance-stabilizing transformation (e.g., natural logarithm, square root) may be sufficient before Bland–Altman analysis can be performed. Sometimes, fractional polynomial regression has been used when the choice of variance-stabilizing transformation was unclear and increasing variability in the differences was observed with increasing mean values. In this case, regressing the absolute differences on a function of the average and applying fractional polynomial regression to this end were previously proposed. This review revisits a previous inter-rater agreement analysis on the Agatston score for coronary calcification. We show the inappropriateness of a straightforward Bland–Altman analysis and briefly describe the nonparametric limits of agreement of the original investigation. We demonstrate the application of fractional polynomials, use the Stata packages fp and fp_select, and discuss the use of degree-2 (the default setting) and degree-3 fractional polynomials. Finally, we discuss conditions for evaluating the appropriateness of nonstandard limits of agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) plays a crucial role in diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD), with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) being a widely accepted method. The accuracy of MPI relies on image quality and the expertise of physicians. While CZT-SPECT cameras offer advantages, they can be susceptible to attenuation artifacts. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of CZT-SPECT and SPECT/CT in a clinical setting. Method: We conducted a prospective single-center study involving patients with known or suspected stable ischemic heart disease who underwent SPECT-MPI using CZT-SPECT and SPECT/CT scanners, and the latter was equipped with cardiofocal collimation. Experienced physicians performed analysis and reporting based on automated quantification and visual image interpretation. Results: A total of 77 patients (32 women (41.6%) and 45 men (58.4%) with an average age of 71.9 ± 8.9 years) were included. The agreement between readers regarding the final conclusion based on imaging reporting using both devices was very high (Kappa 0.87–0.93). Per-vessel analysis revealed a trend suggesting that CZT-SPECT was superior to conventional SPECT/CT in terms of sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that CZT-SPECT imaging offers comparable diagnostic accuracy, improved patient comfort, and eliminates CT-induced radiation compared to SPECT/CT. These findings suggest that cardiac CZT-SPECT imaging has the potential to become a valuable imaging modality in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Sex bias—the use of one sex over the other—is a common practice in biomedical research, typically with over selection of male animals. There are a number of reasons that this practice is common, but it has resulted in dosing errors and unintended side effects in a number of cases in women when products are given without adequate testing in female animals. Sex bias can also result in animal welfare issues given that both sexes are born in approximately equal numbers. Welfare issues include overproduction of the unwanted sex, inadequate ability to recognize and treat pain in female animals, stress associated with differential housing needs based on animal sex, and potential wastage of animals if study results are incorrect or studies need to be redone because only one sex was studied. Even though many government agencies and funding sources now require both sexes to be studied in biomedical research, single-sex studies are still common. More systematic planning and reporting of study details is needed, as well as exploring sex selection technology used in other animal production sectors when single-sex studies are justified, to reduce animal waste. Sex bias in biomedical and natural science research has been prevalent for decades. In many cases, the female estrous cycle was thought to be too complex an issue to model for, and it was thought to be simpler to only use males in studies. At times, particularly when studying efficacy and safety of new therapeutics, this sex bias has resulted in over- and under-medication with associated deleterious side effects in women. Many sex differences have been recognized that are unrelated to hormonal variation occurring during the estrous cycle. Sex bias also creates animal welfare challenges related to animal over-production and wastage, insufficient consideration of welfare (and scientific) impact related to differential housing of male vs female animals within research facilities, and a lack of understanding regarding differential requirements for pain recognition and alleviation in male versus female animals. Although many funding and government agencies require both sexes to be studied in biomedical research, many disparities remain in practice. This requires further enforcement of expectations by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee when reviewing protocols, research groups when writing grants, planning studies, and conducting research, and scientific journals and reviewers to ensure that sex bias policies are enforced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trunk rotator strength plays an important role in sports performance and health. A reliable method to assess these muscles with functional electromechanical dynamometer has not been described. Therefore, the objectives of this paper were (I) to explore the reliability of different strength variables collected in isokinetic and isometric conditions during two trunk rotator exercises, and (II) to determine the relationship of isometric and dynamic strength variables collected in the same exercise. Methods: A repeated measures design was performed to evaluate the reliability of the horizontal cable woodchop (HCW) and low cable woodchop (LCW) exercises. Reliability was assessed using t-tests of paired samples for the effect size, the standard error of measurement, the coefficient of variation (CV) and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The Pearson's (r) correlation coefficient was used to explore the association between isometric and isokinetic tests. Results: HCW exercise is more reliable than LCW exercise in assessing trunk rotator muscles. The strength manifestation that should be used is the average strength, and the most reliable evaluation was the HCW at 0.40 m·s−1 concentric (ICC = 0.89; CV = 10.21%) and eccentric (ICC = 0.85; CV = 9.33%) contraction and the dynamic condition that most correlated with the isometric was LWC at 0.50 m·s−1 (r = 0.83; p < 0.01). Conclusion: HCW is a reliable exercise to measure trunk rotator muscles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Our objective was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the reproducibility of foot and ankle anthropometric measurements with a three-dimensional (3D) optical scanner. Methods: We evaluated thirty-nine different anthropometric parameters obtained with a 3D Laser UPOD-S Full-Foot Scanner in a healthy population of twenty subjects. We determined the variance of the measurements for each foot/ankle, and the average variance among different subjects. Results: For 40 feet and ankles (15 women and 5 men; mean age 35.62 +/− 9.54 years, range 9–75 years), the average variance was 1.4 ± 2 (range 0.1 to 8). Overall, the mean absolute measurement error was <1 mm, with a maximum variance percentage of 8.3%. Forefoot and midfoot circumferences had a low variance <2.5, with variance percentages <1%. Hindfoot circumferences, malleolar heights, and the length of the first and fifth metatarsal to the ground contact points showed the highest variance (range 1 to 7). Conclusions: The UPOD-S Full-Foot optical Scanner achieved a good reproducibility in a large set of foot and ankle anthropometric measurements. It is a valuable tool for clinical and research purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been numerous advances in financial time series forecasting in recent years. Most of them use deep learning techniques. We identified 15 outstanding papers that have been published in the last seven years and have tried to prove the superiority of their approach to forecasting one-dimensional financial time series using deep learning techniques. In order to objectively compare these approaches, we analysed the proposed statistical models and then reviewed and reproduced them. The models were trained to predict, one day in advance, the value of 29 indices and the stock and commodity prices over five different time periods (from 2007 to 2022), with 4 in-sample years and 1 out-of-sample year. Our findings indicated that, first of all, most of these approaches do not beat the naive approach, and only some barely beat it. Most of the researchers did not provide enough data necessary to fully replicate the approach, not to mention the codes. We provide a set of practical recommendations of when to use which models based on the data sample that we provide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a simple and cost-effective method for producing carbon fibre microcylinder bundle (CFMB) electrodes that are highly stable and reproducible for electrochemical sensing applications. The CFMBs were integrated into a 3D-printed electrochemical cell and tested for dopamine (DA) detection. The results demonstrated a linear increase in current with increasing DA concentration, reaching a sensitivity of 428 nAμM−1 and a limit of detection (LOD) of 8.85 μM. The CFMBs also showed high electrochemical selectivity for DA due to the similar oxidation potentials of dopamine and the chemical groups present on the surface of the CFMBs. The reproducibility of the CFMBs was also demonstrated by the low variation in background currents between different electrodes. These findings highlight the potential of CFMBs as a low-cost and effective platform for electrochemical sensing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine consistent change over time in keratoconus disease, it is necessary to establish progression cut-off values based on intersession variability of the device used to monitor the cornea. The aim of this study was to analyze the accuracy of corneal parameters using Scheimpflug tomography and anterior segment optical coherence tomography in healthy and keratoconic eyes of varying severity to determine the cut-off values that indicate real progression. Three repeated measurements of each cornea of healthy (20 eyes) and keratoconic eyes (mild = 16, moderate = 25 and severe = 20) were recorded using Pentacam and Casia SS-1000 devices, which were repeated 2–3 weeks later. K1, K2, maximal anterior and posterior keratometry, and corneal thickness at the thinnest location (TCT) were collected. The accuracy was excellent with both devices; however, the Casia device presented better repeatability and reproducibility in all parameters in all groups compared to the Pentacam. The cut-off of the Pentacam and Casia in the mild stage were lower (K1 = 0.50 and 0.37 D; K2 = 0.51 and 0.37 D; Kmax-A = 1.24 and 0.65 D; Kmax-P = 0.38 and 0.17 D; TCT = 19.64 and 11.19 µm) than that of the severe stage (K1 = 1.09 and 0.88 D; K2 = 1.41 and 0.87 D; Kmax-A = 2.74 and 2.15 D; Kmax-P = 0.82 and 0.22 D; TCT = 28.68 and 14.83 µm). These results show that the greater the keratoconus severity, the greater the change that must occur for it to be considered real. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) synthesis process is being heavily researched for its conformality, high aspect ratio with thickness control, selective area deposition versatility, and variety of low-temperature oxide, nitride, and transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) precursors for a multitude of applications. Repeatability and reproducibility are essential, along with large-scale deposition with high throughput from the commercialization perspective. JMP and Design of Experiment (DoE) are industrially practiced tools to study and reduce process variations. This research paper demonstrates the application of DoE in JMP for the predictive evaluation of ALD for the synthesis of Al2O3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) is a very popular exercise used to improve eccentric strength and prevent injuries. The aim of this investigation was to assess the reliability of a portable dynamometer that measures maximal strength (MS) and rate of force development (RFD) during the NHE. Seventeen physically active participants (34.8 ± 4.1 years; n = 2 women and n = 15 men) participated. Measurements occurred on two different days separated by 48–72 h. Test–retest reliability was calculated for bilateral MS and RFD. No significant test–retest differences were observed in NHE (test–retest [95% CI, confidence interval]) for MS [−19.2 N (−67.8; 29.4); p = 0.42] and RFD [−70.4 N·s−1 (−178.4; 37.8); p = 0.19]. MS showed high reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] [95% CI], =0.93 [0.80–0.97] and large within-subject correlation between test and retest [r = 0.88 (0.68; 0.95)]. RFD displayed good reliability [ICC = 0.76 (0.35; 0.91)] and moderate within-subject correlation between test and retest [r = 0.63 (0.22; 0.85)]. Bilateral MS and RFD displayed a coefficient of variation of 3.4% and 4.6%, respectively, between tests. The standard error of measurement and the minimal detectable change for MS was 44.6 arbitrary units (a.u.) and 123.6 a.u., and 104.6 a.u. and 290.0 a.u. for peak RFD. This study shows that MS and RFD can be measured for NHE using a portable dynamometer. However, not all exercises are suitable to apply to determine RFD, so caution must be taken when analyzing RFD during NHE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]