A methodology based on fuzzy set theory is presented to express imprecision of input data in a non-probabilitic sense. Imprecision may originate from indirect measurements, estimation routines, subjective interpretation, and expert judgement of available information. A numerical finite difference solution scheme was chosen to solve one-dimensional steady-state water flow in the unsaturated zone...

BACKGROUND Despite the increasing use of real-time PCR in the diagnosis and management of viral infections, there are no published studies adequately addressing the optimum number of calibrators, the number of replicates of each calibrator, and the frequency with which calibration needs to be repeated. This study was designed to address these issues. METHODS Cycle threshold data (ABI 7700) wa...

Software effort estimation at early stages of project development holds great significance for the industry to meet the competitive demands of today’s world. Accuracy, reliability and precision in the estimates of effort are quite desirable. The inherent imprecision present in the inputs of the algorithmic models like Constructive Cost Model (COCOMO) yields imprecision in the output, resulting ...

Inflammation plays a key role in atherosclerosis. A number of different biomarkers of inflammation are measurable in blood. These include cytokines, chemokines, soluble adhesion molecules, and acute-phase reactants. The first 3 groups of molecules are not routinely measured in clinical laboratories. The acute-phase reactants include C-reactive protein (CRP). This analyte is stable and is readil...

Often experts are incapable of providingèxact' probabilities; likewise, samples on which the probabilities in networks are based must often be small and preliminary. In such cases the probabilities in the networks are imprecise. The imprecision can be handled by second-order probability distributions. It is convenient to use beta or Dirichlet distributions to express the uncertainty about proba...

PURPOSE To determine the reproducibility of automated segmentation of the three-dimensional (3D) lamina cribrosa (LC) microarchitecture scanned in-vivo using optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS Thirty-nine eyes (8 healthy, 19 glaucoma suspects and 12 glaucoma) from 49 subjects were scanned twice using swept-source (SS-) OCT in a 3.5×3.5×3.64 mm (400×400×896 pixels) volume centered on ...

BACKGROUND Reliable estimates of within-person biological variation and reference change value are of great importance when interpreting test results, monitoring patients, and setting quality specifications. Little information has been published regarding what experimental design is optimal to achieve the best estimates of within-person biological variation. METHOD Expected CIs were calculate...

Several lysosomal enzymes present in human plasma (N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, beta-glucuronidase, beta-galactosidase, alpha-galactosidase, alpha-L-fucosidase, alpha-mannosidase, beta-glucosidase) were maintained in a fully active state for at least 8 months by the addition of ethylene glycol (300 milligrams final concentration) to freshly prepared plasma and storage at -20 degrees C. Pools ...

Access control mechanisms protect sensitive information from unauthorized users. However, when sensitive information is shared and a Privacy Protection Mechanism (PPM) is not in place, an authorized user can still compromise the privacy of a person leading to identity disclosure. A PPM can use suppression and generalization of relational data to anonymize and satisfy privacy requirements, e.g.,...

BACKGROUND From 2005 to 2007 the Australian Government funded a multicentre, clustered randomized controlled trial to determine the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, satisfaction and safety of point of care testing (PoCT) in general practice (GP). PoC tests measured (and devices used) in the trial were haemoglobin A1c and urine albumin:creatinine ratio (DCA 2000), lipids (Cholestech L...