BACKGROUND Recognition of tissue planes during surgery appears to be a skill acquired with experience. We conducted a pilot study to test this hypothesis using a novel method for evaluating this skill in a simulated environment. METHODS Twelve surgeons of varying levels of experience were shown 16 captured images from a mesorectal excision. For each image, they were asked to draw the ideal di...

INTRODUCTION The incidence of emergency conditions is increasing worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). However, triage and emergency care training has not been prioritized in LMICs. We aimed to assess the reliability and validity of the South African Triage Scale (SATS) when used by providers not specifically trained in SATS, as well as to compare triage capabilit...

Spherical harmonics (SH) were used to approximate the volume and three-dimensional geometry of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions in deceased patients. The institutional ethical committee does not require its approval for studies involving pathologic specimens. Pathologic findings were used as the reference standard. In addition, lesion volume was measured with cylindrical approximation (CA). Volu...

BACKGROUND While Medicare claims are a potential resource for clinical mammography research or quality monitoring, the validity of key data elements remains uncertain. Claims codes for digital mammography and computer-aided detection (CAD), for example, have not been validated against a credible external reference standard. METHODS We matched Medicare mammography claims for women who received...

BACKGROUND Triage is one of the core requirements for the provision of effective emergency care and has been shown to reduce patient mortality. However, in low- and middle-income countries this strategy is underused, under-resourced and poorly researched. OBJECTIVE To assess the inter- and intra-rater reliability and accuracy of nurse triage ratings when using the South African Triage Scale (...

Gauge blocks continue to be essential reference artifacts in manufacturing because of their simple geometry, but also because they can provide very high accuracy for a reasonable cost. The calibration technique of optical interferometry can directly link gauge block central length to the distance light travels in vacuum in 1/299792458 of a second, the definition of the International System of U...

Heat-treated leaves of Cassia alata were studied for any change in chemical constituents using sun dried leaves as the reference standard. A high concentration of a constituent was observed in the heat-treated leaves. Spectroscopic studies revealed the structure of the constituent as kaempferol 3-gentiobioside, which has not yet been detected in the Cassia species. In a stability study disappea...

We describe the results of a comparison of reference standards between the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST-USA) and Centro Nacional De Metrología (CENAM-Mexico). Open beam (free field) and optical-fiber-based measurements at wavelengths of 1302 nm and 1546 nm are reported. Both laboratories' reference standards were compared by means of a temperature-controlled optical trap...

Cold pain threshold (CPT) measures an individual's pain threshold in response to a cold stimulus. CPT is most accurately determined with specialised equipment; however this technology is not readily accessible to clinicians. Instead, ice has been employed to measure CPT. An optimal ice protocol has not yet been identified. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of tw...

Modern confocal microscopes enable high-precision measurement in three dimensions by collecting stacks of 2D (x-y) images that can be assembled digitally into a 3D image. It is difficult, however, to ensure position accuracy, particularly along the optical (z) axis where scanning is performed by a different physical mechanism than in x-y. We describe a simple device to calibrate simultaneously ...