MRSCloud: a Cloud-based MR Spectroscopy Tool for Basis Set Simulation

To establish the utility and feasibility of the International Spinal Cord Injury/Dysfunction (SCI/D) Bowel Function Basic Data Set Version 2.0 in pediatric SCI populations. This was a noninterventional, repeated measure design conducted in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, Kentucky, and South Carolina. The International Spinal Cord Injury/Dysfunction (SCI/D) Bowel Function Basic Data Set Version 2.0 was administered repeatedly, twice at the point of care and once over the phone. Time to complete the data set was recorded. Inter- and intrarater reliability was examined by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), and agreement between the bowel function basic data set variables and medical records was calculated using percentages. Intrarater reliability involved the same person administering the data once at the point of care and once over the phone. Forty-one children/youth ages 1 to 20 years participated in this study. Average time to complete the data set was 5.17 minutes. Interrater reliability was good to excellent (ICC ≥ 0.75) for most variables. Five variables had moderate interrater reliability (ICC = 0.05-0.74) and three had poor interrater reliability (ICC < 0.05). With the exception of one variable that had poor intrarater reliability (constipating agent, ICC = 0.00) and one that approached moderate reliability (digital evacuation, ICC = 0.74), intrarater reliability was good to strong for every bowel variable (ICC = 0.88-1.00). Only 12 (32%) medical records had explicit documentation of one or more of the variables on the Basic Bowel Function Basic Data Set V2.0. The results support future research with a larger and more diverse sample of children with SCI to build upon the psychometric work described herein.

Introduction: In top-level football, clubs seek to identify young talent. This identification requires using tests to notably evaluate the lower-limb strength, which is a decisive physical quality in football performance. However, the tests used are not always highly reliable to interpret results meaningfully, particularly among age categories since their reliability could differ according to maturity status (Ferrari et al., 2023). In addition, lower-limb strength testing reliability may also vary according to movements performed, whether these are mono- or poly-articular. In this sense, it is possible to suggest that pre-pubertal players exhibit lower scores of test-retest reliability during poly-articular movements than their older counterparts because of their poorer motor coordination due to immaturity of cerebellum. However, this remains to be further clarified. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability of dominant lower-limb strength on abduction, adduction, anterior or posterior chain movements in football players from an elite professional club academy, and to compare the results depending on maturity status and movement performed. Our hypothesis is that strength testing reliability will be lower for pre-pubertal than pubertal and post-pubertal players, more particularly for poly- than mono-articular movements in pre-pubertal players. Methods: Seventy players from a professional club academy were recruited and divided into 3 groups : 24 pre-pubertal (Pre; 12.8±0.5 years, -1.9±0.5 years from Age at the Peak Height Velocity or APHV), 18 pubertal (Pub; 15.2±0.6 years, +0.3±0.5 years from APHV), and 28 post-pubertal (Post; 16.6±1.6 years, +2.4±1.1 years from APHV). After at least two familiarization sessions, they performed five maximum strength tests involving adductor, abductor, posterior or anterior chain muscles, each twice, one week apart. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV) were calculated for each test. Results: Most test-retest evaluations showed good statistical reliability for each group (CV&lt;10% and ICC&gt;0.90) (see Table below). However, the post-pubertal players systematically exhibited lower CV and higher ICC values than their pre-pubertal and pubertal counterparts. Discussion/Conclusion: Lower-limb strength testing reliability is influenced by the players’ maturity status, with pre-pubertal players showing higher CV and lower ICC than their older counterparts, notably for polyarticular movements involving posterior chain muscles in a standing position. Therefore, in young elite soccer players, lower-limb strength testing reliability is not interchangeable between age categories, and caution should be done when interpreting strength results for talent identification and long-term player development purposes.

To compare choroidal neovascularization (CNV) area and vessel density (VD) measurements between two different swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) devices. En face optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) images of patients affected by neovascular age-related macular degeneration were collected prospectively from two devices: Zeiss PLEX Elite 9000 (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA) and Topcon DRI OCT Triton SS-OCTA (Topcon, Tokyo, Japan). Choroidal neovascularization area and VD of images were measured and analyzed with ImageJ software by two readers to evaluate the agreement between two devices, with respect to different image size (3 × 3 and 6 × 6 mm) and different image segmentation (automatic vs. manual), and a Topcon equivalent Zeiss segmentation as control (i.e., the equivalent anatomical slab given by Topcon device on the Zeiss device). A total of 30 eyes (30 patients) were analyzed. There was an excellent agreement between the two readers in CNV area measurements intraclass correlation coefficient >0.9 in all analyses. We found excellent agreement in CNV area measurements (manual and automatic segmentations) when comparing 3 × 3-mm or 6 × 6-mm images both for each single device and between the two devices (overall intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.9). Vessel density measurements between manual to automatic segmentation within the same device and same image size had a high intraclass correlation coefficient value, but there was a poor agreement in VD between different image sizes (3 × 3 mm vs. 6 × 6 mm) in the same device and also comparing the two devices (3 × 3 Topcon vs. 3 × 3 Zeiss; 6 × 6 Topcon vs. 6 × 6 Zeiss). There was a poor agreement between the Topcon equivalent Zeiss segmentation and all other segmentations. There was an excellent agreement in CNV area measurements for both swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography devices in automatic and manual segmentations. However, the Topcon equivalent Zeiss segmentation was not comparable with any of the preset segmentations of Topcon and Zeiss devices. There was a poor agreement in CNV VD between different image size and different devices. For these reasons, it seems that, for accurate longitudinal analysis of VD, it is better to use the same device for each individual, even if both devices can be used interchangeably for CNV area measurements using automatic or manual segmentations.

Evaluating the reproducibility and validity of maximal mouth opening measurement techniques

BACKGROUND: The 20-maximum trampoline jump test is a commonly used performance measure in competitive trampoline gymnastics. However, its reliability and characteristics are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: To determine the reliability of the 20-maximum trampoline jump test and describe its characteristics. METHODS: Thirty-two national and international level trampoline gymnasts (18 [Formula: see text] 5 years) performed two, 20-maximal straight jump tests, separated by 24–72 hours. Time of flight (total, jumps 1–10 and jumps 11–20), force (average and peak), horizontal displacement and contact time were measured by a competition standard system. Test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), typical error, and coefficient of variation (CV). RESULTS: Total time of flight significantly decreased between trial 1 (31.80 [Formula: see text] 1.98 s) and trial 2 (31.43 [Formula: see text] 1.99 s; [Formula: see text] 0.05), however test-retest reliability was excellent (ICC [Formula: see text] 0.96, CV [Formula: see text] 1.3%). Other time of flight and force measures significantly decreased from trial 1 to trial 2, whereas contact time increased. All secondary measures displayed very high ICC (0.95–0.99) and low CV values (0.5–1.9%), except horizontal displacement (ICC [Formula: see text] 0.54, CV [Formula: see text] 20.6%). CONCLUSION: The 20-maximum test possesses excellent reliability for the assessment of trampoline performance in a wide population of national and international level gymnasts.

Reliability of gait variability assessment in older individuals during a six-minute walk test

The Reliability of the Associate Platinum Digital Foot Scanner in Measuring Previously Developed Footprint Characteristics: A Technical Note

Ultrasonic cleaning equipment

Regional homogeneity (ReHo) is widely used in the analysis of fMRI data of patients with schizophrenia. However, the influence of scan duration on the results is not clear. In this work, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was applied to investigate the reliability of a popular method called KCC-ReHo algorithm, using rest-state fMRI data of schizophrenia patients. The full length 6 minutes data collected was split into data with six different durations from 1 min to 6 min with 1 min equal separation. With increasing scan duration, the mean ICC value of the whole brain is found to increase monotonically from 0.55 to 0.97, and the standard deviation decreases from 0.21 to 0.02. The high ICC values mainly occurred in the superior parietal gyrus, paracentral lobule, superior frontal gyrus dorsolateral, supplementary motor area, fusiform gyrus and inferior temporal gyrus of both hemispheres.KeywordsResting stateRegional homogeneityICCScan durationSchizophrenia

Event Abstract Back to Event Technical and functional validations of High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI)-MR tractography in paediatric epilepsy patients Sarah M. Barton1*, Joseph Y. Yang2, Wirginia Maixner2, A. Simon Harvey3, 4, Jeremy Freeman3, Richard Beare1, Marc Seal1, 4 and Vicki Anderson4, 5, 6 1 Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Developmental Imaging, Australia 2 The Royal Children’s Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Australia 3 The Royal Children’s Hospital, Department of Neurology, Australia 4 The University of Melbourne, Department of Paediatrics, Australia 5 Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Child Neuropsychology, Australia 6 The University of Melbourne, School of Psychological Sciences, Australia Background: HARDI-MR tractography is a neuroimaging technique that allows modelling of white matter tracts in the brain. The ability to visualise white matter tracts pre-operatively has the potential to improve neurosurgery accuracy and outcome. However despite its growing popularity, questions remain regarding its technical reproducibility and validity in routine clinical use. Here we examine the reliability of a locally practised HARDI-MR tractography method in paediatric epilepsy patients and in a novel demonstration present the functional validation of the technique against multimodal clinical investigations. Methods: Eight patients were identified retrospectively from our Children’s Epilepsy Program database. All cases had pre-operative diffusion MRI sequences and motor and/or language functional MRI (fMRI). In select cases, intra- or extra-operative motor and/or language cortical mapping results were available. Corticospinal (CST) and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) tracts were generated by two different operators. Coefficients of variation (CV), intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and dice similarity coefficients (DSC) were calculated to assess reproducibility of tract metrics and degree of tract overlap between the operators. Tractography results were compared to fMRI activation, cortical mapping results and the patient’s clinical assessment findings. Results: All white matter tracts generated were visually comparable between operators. The tract measures showed low CV values, high ICC values and high DSC scores, indicating there was a high degree of reproducibility and overlap within and between the two operators. Cortical origin and terminations of all CST and SLF tracts matched with the patient’s areas of motor or language fMRI activation. In all but one case, tractography results matched cortical stimulation findings. Tracts were also compatible with the clinical assessment findings. Discussion: In a group of paediatric epilepsy patients, tractography results could be reliably generated and reproduced. In a novel demonstration, there was correspondence between the anatomical course of the tracts with areas of fMRI activation and, in all but one case, cortical stimulation findings. This suggests that in experienced hands, HARDI-MR tractography can be a reliable and valid technique in clinical settings. HARDI-MR tractography has the potential to make valuable contributions to neurosurgery planning to improve outcome for patients. Keywords: tractography, corticospinal tract, Superior longitudinal fasciculus, Paediatric, Epilepsy, Neurosurgery, diffusion imaging Conference: ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference, Clayton, Melbourne, Australia, 28 Nov - 1 Dec, 2013. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: Other Citation: Barton SM, Yang JY, Maixner W, Harvey A, Freeman J, Beare R, Seal M and Anderson V (2013). Technical and functional validations of High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI)-MR tractography in paediatric epilepsy patients. Conference Abstract: ACNS-2013 Australasian Cognitive Neuroscience Society Conference. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2013.212.00059 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 15 Oct 2013; Published Online: 25 Nov 2013. * Correspondence: Dr. Sarah M Barton, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Developmental Imaging, Parkville, Victoria, Australia, sarah.barton@mcri.edu.au Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Sarah M Barton Joseph Y Yang Wirginia Maixner A. Simon Harvey Jeremy Freeman Richard Beare Marc Seal Vicki Anderson Google Sarah M Barton Joseph Y Yang Wirginia Maixner A. Simon Harvey Jeremy Freeman Richard Beare Marc Seal Vicki Anderson Google Scholar Sarah M Barton Joseph Y Yang Wirginia Maixner A. Simon Harvey Jeremy Freeman Richard Beare Marc Seal Vicki Anderson PubMed Sarah M Barton Joseph Y Yang Wirginia Maixner A. Simon Harvey Jeremy Freeman Richard Beare Marc Seal Vicki Anderson Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Purpose. To investigate the validity and reliability of the Turkish translation of the original Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI).Method. On May 2003, we received permission from Boston University to translate and use the PEDI for Research purposes. PEDI Functional Skills scale and Caregiver Assistance scale was administered by physiatrists to 573 healthy Turkish children (295 males and 278 females; the age range: 7 months to 7½ years) in two different healthcare centres in Ankara. The Turkish translation of the PEDI was again administered to 102 children after five days in order to assess test-retest reliability. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Cronbach's alphas (α) were calculated. The test-retest reliability was assessed by Spearman's correlation coefficient. Internal construct validity was assessed by using Rasch unidimensional measurement model.Results. High Cronbach's α coefficients (≥0.98), high ICC values (≥0.96) and high Spearman correlation coefficients (≥0.86) were found. The internal construct validity was confirmed by good fit to the Rasch measurement model. The fit statistics conducted in the study was acceptable, except for some items.Conclusions. The Turkish translation of the PEDI is valid and reliable for the Turkish child population. We believe that PEDI is a detailed and useful instrument for the evaluation of efficiency of pediatric rehabilitation programme.

Reliability and Reproducibility of Manual and Automated Volumetric Measurements of Periapical Lesions

Background: Childhood obesity is one of the most critical global health challenges. Poor knee extensor strength is associated with disability and difficulties with physical function in obese patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability of peak torque and total work in concentric flexion and concentric extension in obese children. Methods: 25 obese children aged between 6 and 11 years performed 3F maximal unilateral isokinetic repetitions with the knee extensors/flexors performing concentric actions at 60°/s. Peak torque (Nm), total work (J), and the ratio antagonist/agonist were recorded and normalized by total and lean mass. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM), and smallest real difference (SRD) were computed. Results: Reliability was excellent for almost all variables. The highest ICC values were observed when work or peak torque were not divided by any other variable. However, SEM (%) and SRD (%) were lower when peak torque and work were divided by the total mass or lean mass. The antagonist/agonist ratio showed an ICC value of 0.873. Conclusion: Peak torque, total work, and the antagonist/agonist ratio are reliable in obese children.

PurposeTo investigate the repeatability, interocular correlation and agreement of quantitative swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) metrics in healthy subjects.MethodsThirty-three healthy normal subjects were enrolled. The macula was scanned four...

Highly accurate relativistic Gaussian basis sets are developed for the 103 elements from H(Z=1) to Lr (Z=103). Orbital exponents are optimized by minimizing the atomic self-consistent field (SCF) energy with the scalar relativistic third-order Douglas–Kroll approximation. The basis sets are designed to have equal quality and to be appropriate for the incorporation of relativistic effects. The basis set performance is tested by calculations on prototypical molecules, hydrides, and dimers of copper, silver, and gold using SCF, Møller–Plesset theory, and the singles and doubles coupled-cluster methods with and without perturbative triples [CCSD, CCSD(T)]. Spectroscopic constants and dissociation energies are reported for the ground state of each species. The effects of relativity, electron correlation, and the basis set superposition error (BSSE) are investigated. At the BSSE corrected CCSD(T) level, the mean absolute error relative to experiment in De for three dimers (hydrides) is 0.13 (0.09) eV; for Re the error is 0.024 (0.003) Å, and for ωe it is 2 (13) cm−1. These illustrative calculations confirm that the present basis sets fulfill their design objectives.