Observer Variability in Measuring Animal Biometrics and Fluctuating Asymmetry when using Digital Analysis of Photographs

Previous research documenting the chronology of the cellular interactions that occur on or below the surface of the endothelium during the initiation and progression of arterial lesions, primarily consisted of descriptive studies. The recent development of lower cost image analysis hardware and software has facilitated the collection of high resolution quantitative data from microscopic images. In this report we present preliminary quantitative data on the sequence of cellular interactions that occur on the endothelium during the initiation of atherosclerosis or vasculitis utilizing digital analysis of images obtained directly from the scanning electron microscope. Segments of both atherosclerotic and normal arteries were obtained from either diet-induced or endogenously (WHHL) hypercholesterolemic rabbits following 1-4 months duration of hypercholesterolemia and age matched control rabbits. Vasculitis was induced in rats following placement of an endotoxin soaked thread adjacent to the adventitial surface of arteries.

Download Full-text

Continuous Quantitative Monitoring of Mural, Platelet-Dependent, Thrombus Kinetics in the Crushed Rat Femoral Vein

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1648165 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 65 (04) ◽

pp. 425-431 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

F Stockmans ◽

H Deckmyn ◽

J Gruwez ◽

J Vermylen ◽

R Acland

Keyword(s):

Thrombus Formation ◽

Femoral Vein ◽

Maximum Size ◽

Digital Analysis ◽

Video Recordings ◽

Quantitative Monitoring ◽

Set Up ◽

Kinetics Of ◽

Quantitative Nature

SummaryA new in vivo method to study the size and dynamics of a growing mural thrombus was set up in the rat femoral vein. The method uses a standardized crush injury to induce a thrombus, and a newly developed transilluminator combined with digital analysis of video recordings. Thrombi in this model formed rapidly, reaching a maximum size 391 ± 35 sec following injury, after which they degraded with a half-life of 197 ± 31 sec. Histological examination indicated that the thrombi consisted mainly of platelets. The quantitative nature of the transillumination technique was demonstrated by simultaneous measurement of the incorporation of 111In labeled platelets into the thrombus. Thrombus formation, studied at 30 min interval in both femoral veins, showed satisfactory reproducibility overall and within a given animalWith this method we were able to induce a thrombus using a clinically relevant injury and to monitor continuously and reproducibly the kinetics of thrombus formation in a vessel of clinically and surgically relevant size

Download Full-text

Percentage of Inadequate Phlebograms and Observer Agreement in Thromboprophylactic Multicenter Trials Using Standardized Methodology and Central Assessment

Thrombosis and Haemostasis ◽

10.1055/s-0038-1650682 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 76 (06) ◽

pp. 0893-0896 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

P Kälebo ◽

S Ekman ◽

S Lindbratt ◽

B I Eriksson ◽

U Pauli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Standard Method ◽

Observer Agreement ◽

Observer Variability ◽

Intraobserver Agreement ◽

Multicenter Trials ◽

Kappa Value

SummaryThis study examines inadequacy rates for phlebography in two multicenter trials for the prevention of post-operative DVT and determines inter- and intra-observer variability in evaluating phlebograms. A total of 991 (I) and 385 (II) patients underwent bilateral phlebography in two studies of thromboprophylaxis. Phlebography was performed using a standard method designed to visualize and assess all deep veins. Each vein was scored as normal, DVT or inadequate by both local and central assessment. The study showed low inadequacy rates for phlebograms of 12.2% (121/991) and 6.5% (25/385). Inter-observer agreement (local vs. central assessment) was moderate in both studies (1:74.8%, Kappa-value 0.41; II: 82.6%, Kappa-value 0.51). Good intraobserver agreement (within the central assessment group) was observed (I: 88.8%, Kappa-value 0.75). This study demonstrates low inadequacy rates for phlebograms using a standardized methodology and superior intra-observer agreement compared to inter-observer agreement and supports the importance of central assessment of phlebograms in thromboprophylactic multicenter trials to reduce observer variability.

Download Full-text

“To Corrupt a Man in the Midst of a Verse”: Ben Jonson and the Prose of the World

Ben Jonson Journal ◽

10.3366/bjj.2017.0179 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 24 (1) ◽

pp. 46-72

Author(s):

Jacob Tootalian

Keyword(s):

Mixed Mode ◽

Ben Jonson ◽

Digital Analysis ◽

Interactive Engagement ◽

Sentence Level ◽

Linguistic Patterns ◽

The World ◽

Selection Of ◽

Bartholomew Fair

Ben Jonson's early plays show a marked interest in prose as a counterpoint to the blank verse norm of the Renaissance stage. This essay presents a digital analysis of Jonson's early mixed-mode plays and his two later full-prose comedies. It examines this selection of the Jonsonian corpus using DocuScope, a piece of software that catalogs sentence-level features of texts according to a series of rhetorical categories, highlighting the distinctive linguistic patterns associated with Jonson's verse and prose. Verse tends to employ abstract, morally and emotionally charged language, while prose is more often characterized by expressions that are socially explicit, interrogative, and interactive. In the satirical economy of these plays, Jonson's characters usually adopt verse when they articulate censorious judgements, descending into prose when they wade into the intractable banter of the vicious world. Surprisingly, the prosaic signature that Jonson fashioned in his earlier drama persisted in the two later full-prose comedies. The essay presents readings of Every Man Out of his Humour and Bartholomew Fair, illustrating how the tension between verse and prose that motivated the satirical dynamics of the mixed-mode plays was released in the full-prose comedies. Jonson's final experiments with theatrical prose dramatize the exhaustion of the satirical impulse by submerging his characters almost entirely in the prosaic world of interactive engagement.

Download Full-text