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Previous research points out high relevance of maximal strength measurement in the diagnostics of different populations. However, there is inconsistency in procedures of maximum strength measurements. Thus, it must be questioned whether the results from different studies are actually comparable. Due to the aforementioned problems in standardization, the aim of this study was to assess correlations between and reproducibility of isometric and dynamic strength testing. Since there are many studies investigating maximal strength in the calf muscles, this study will examine the plantar flexors. For this purpose, 87 active participants were recruited (m: 52, f: 35, age: 28.3 ± 5.5 years, range 18-38 years, height: 178.3 ± 6.6 cm, weight: 81.5 ± 7.4 kg) who performed maximal isometric strength testing and dynamic 1RM testing in plantar flexion both with extended and bended knee joint. Pearson correlation as well as concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) were determined. In literature, CCC is used to determine reproducibility between two different testing methods. There were correlation coefficients of r = 0.63 - 0.77 and ρC=0.62 - 0.77. Results are comparable with correlations between maximal isometric strength and 1-RM in previous studies in different movements. In consideration of CCC, isometric strength testing and 1RM seem to not measure the same parameter, therefore comparison of results measured with different procedures seems difficult. Our results exhibit a high influence of isometric maximal strength on 1RM performance. However, 1RM tests cannot be replaced by isometric strength testing. Care must be taken due to standardization of procedure when comparing results from different studies and, especially, if 1RM testing should be replaced with isometric strength measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to determine the level of agreement between calculated percentage pain reduction, derived from visual analog or numerical rating scales, and patient-reported percentage pain reduction in patients having labor epidural analgesia.Methods: In a prospective observational study, parturients were asked to rate their pain intensity on a visual analog scale and numerical rating scale, before and 30min after initiation of epidural analgesia. The percentage pain reduction 30min after epidural analgesia was calculated by the formula: 100×(score before epidural analgesia-score 30min after epidural analgesia)/score before epidural analgesia. To evaluate agreement between calculated percentage pain reduction and patient-reported percentage pain reduction, we computed the concordance correlation coefficient and performed Bland-Altman analysis.Results: Ninety-seven women in labor were enrolled in the study, most of whom were nulliparous, with a singleton fetus and in spontaneous labor. The concordance correlation coefficient with patient-reported percentage pain reduction was 0.76 (95% CI 0.6 to 0.8) and 0.77 (95% CI 0.6 to 0.8) for the visual analog and numerical rating scale, respectively. The Bland-Altman mean difference between calculated percentage pain reduction and patient-reported percentage pain reduction for the visual analog and numerical rating scales was -2.0% (limits of agreement at 29.8%) and 0 (limits of agreement at 28.2%), respectively.Conclusion: The agreement between calculated percentage pain reduction from a visual analog or numerical rating scale and patient-reported percentage pain reduction in the context of labor epidural analgesia was moderate. The difference could range up to 30%. Patient-reported percentage pain reduction has advantages as a measurement tool for assessing pain management for childbirth but differences compared with other assessment methods should be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces new statistics for evaluating score consistency. Psychologists usually use correlations to measure the degree of linear relationship between 2 sets of scores, ignoring differences in means and standard deviations. In medicine, biology, chemistry, and physics, a more stringent criterion is often used: the extent to which scores are identically equal. For each test taker (or other unit of measurement), the difference between the 2 scores is calculated. The root mean square difference (RMSD) represents the average change from 1 set of scores to the other, and the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) rescales this coefficient to have a maximum value of 1. This article shows the relationship of the RMSD and CCC to the intraclass correlation coefficients, product-moment correlation, and standard error of measurement. Finally, this article adapts the RMSD and the CCC for linear, consistency, and absolute definitions of agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The segmentation of cDNA microarray spots is essential in analyzing the intensities of microarray images for biological and medical investigation. In this work, nonparametric methods using kernel density estimation are applied to segment two-channel cDNA microarray images. This approach groups pixels into both a foreground and a background. The segmentation performance of this model is tested and evaluated with reference to 16 microarray data. In particular, spike genes with various contents are spotted in a microarray to examine and evaluate the accuracy of the segmentation results. Duplicated design is implemented to evaluate the accuracy of the model. The results of this study demonstrate that this method can cluster pixels and estimate statistics regarding spots with high accuracy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]