Reliability of toluidine blue application in the detection of oral epithelial dysplasia and in situ and invasive squamous cell carcinomas

Objective, the objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of in vivo staining with toluidine blue in the detection of oral epithelial dysplasia, in situ carcinoma, and invasive squamous cell carcinomas in potentially malignant epithelial lesions (PMELs) and superficial oral ulcerations suggesting malignancy.Study design. Fifty patients with PMELs and superficial oral ulcerations suggestive of malignancy were selected from those treated at the Oral Medicine Service, Faculty of Dentistry, Araraquara, Brazil. All lesions were submitted to staining with an aqueous solution of 1% toluidine blue, followed by biopsy and histologic analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were calculated.Results. Histologic diagnosis revealed that 14% of the lesions analyzed were in situ carcinoma and invasive squamous cell carcinomas, 12% were epithelial dysplasias, 13% were keratosis, 40% were lichen planus, and 8% were other benign lesions. The sensitivity uf the staining was 77%, the specificity 67%, and the positive and negative predictive values 43.5% and 88.9%, respectivelyConclusions, Staining with toluidine blue was demonstrated to be highly reliable in the detection of in situ carcinoma acid invasive squamous cell carcinoma, because false-negative results for the lesions did not occur. Toluidine blue staining is an adjunct to clinical judgment and not a substitute for either judgment or biopsy.

Reliability of a method for evaluating porosity in denture base resins

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Reliability of assessing dye penetration along root canal fillings using methylene blue

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

On the reliability of visual communication in vertebrate-dispersed fruits

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Validity and reliability of the Portuguese version of Mandibular Function Impairment Questionnaire

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The reliability of experts' opinions in constructing a composite environmental index: The case of ESI 2005

The complexity of the environment demands a well-constructed composite environmental index (CEI) to provide a useful tool to draw attention to environmental conditions and trends for policy purposes. Among the common difficulties in constructing a proper CEI are uncertainties due to the selection of the most representative underlying variables or indicators. A degree of uncertainty accompanies experts' judgments, and to deal with vague, subjective or inconsistent information, logic other than classic is required. This study analyzes a procedure that uses different experts' opinions in constructing a CEI. with the use of paraconsistent annotated logic. For this, a sensitivity analysis of the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI 2005) was used as an example to assess the reliability of experts' opinions. The uncertainty due to the disagreement in experts' opinions clearly indicates that the forms we presently use to measure and monitor the actual environment are insufficient, that is, there is a lack of a "science of sustainability". (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reliability of carnitine concentrations measured in single postprandial urine samples from dogs

Objective - To evaluate the reliability of urine carnitine concentrations measured in single postprandial samples, compared with carnitine concentrations measured in 24-hour urine samples. Animals - 19 healthy Beagles. Procedure - After emptying the urinary bladder by catheterization, dogs were fed a canned canine maintenance diet. Approximately 8 hours later, urine, plasma, and serum samples were obtained for determination of urinary carnitine fractional excretion and urine carnitine-to-creatinine concentration ratio. Results were compared with 24-hour urinary carnitine excretion rate. Results - Fractional excretion of carnitine and urine carnitine-to-creatinine ratios correlated poorly with 24-hour urinary carnitine excretion. Conclusion - Determination of 24-hour urinary carnitine excretion is recommended to measure urine carnitine concentrations in dogs.

Reliability of timber bridges using nailed plywood box beams

The Nailed Box Beam structural efficiency is directly dependent of the flange-web joint behavior, which determines the partial composition of the section, as the displacement between elements reduces the effective rigidity of the section and changes the stress distribution and the total displacement of the section. This work discusses the use of Nailed Plywood Box Beams in small span timber bridges, focusing on the reliability of the beam element. It is presented the results of tests carried out in 21 full scale Nailed Plywood Box Beams. The analysis of maximum load tests results shows that it presents a normal distribution, permitting the characteristic values calculation as the normal distribution theory specifies. The reliability of those elements was analyzed focusing on a timber bridge design, to estimate the failure probability in function of the load level.

Factors affecting the adoption of supply chain management practices: Evidence from the Brazilian electro-electronic sector

This study on the factors affecting the adoption of supply chain management (SCM) practices develops four hypotheses based on a literature review, and tests them using survey data of Brazilian electro-electronic firms. The results reveal the big picture of the SCM practices in the sector and suggest that contextual factors such as size, position and bargaining power affect the adoption of SCM practices, which are also more customer oriented. Sector characteristics are very important in analysing SCM practices. Contrary to the findings of literature, the relationship between competitive priorities and SCM practices was not supported statistically. © 2011.

Lack of reliability of nanotechnology in the of free plasma DNA in samples of patients with prostate cancer

Background: Several studies seek biological markers that give diagnostic and degree of tumor development. The aim of this study was to validate the determination of plasma DNA using nanotechnology (Nanovue™-NV) in samples of 80 patients with prostate cancer. Methods. Blood samples of 80 patients of the Urology Ambulatory of Faculdade de Medicina do ABC with prostate cancer confirmed by anatomical-pathology criteria were analyzed. DNA extraction was performed using a GFX TM kit (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Inc, USA) following the adapted protocol. Plasma was subjected to centrifugation. Results: There was a big difference between the first and the second value obtained by NanoVue Only two samples had no differences between duplicates. Maximum difference between duplicates was 38 μg/mL. Average variation between 51 samples was 10.29 μg/mL, although 21 samples had differences above this average. No correlation was observed between pDNA obtained by traditional spectrophotometry and by nanotechnology. Conclusion: Determination of plasma DNA by nanotechnology was not reproducible. © 2013 Moreno et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

The reliability of counting actinic keratosis

Many epidemiological studies and clinical trials have been performed concerning actinic keratoses. The most eligible endpoint in the majority of articles is counting of actinic keratoses before and after treatments, nevertheless some authors support that this is not a reliable form of evaluation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the actinic keratoses counting by various raters and suggest approaches to increase the reliability. Cross-sectional study: forty-three patients were evaluated by four raters (inter- and intra-rater assessment) on the face and forearms. The mean actinic keratoses counts on the face and forearms were 7.7 and 9.1. The overall agreement among the raters for the facial and forearm actinic keratoses was 0.74 and 0.77. The intra-rater assessment showed high rates of agreement for the face (ICC = 0.93) and forearms (ICC = 0.83). Higher agreement occurred when counting up to five lesions. Four raters led to increased measurement variability and loss of reliability. Higher rates of agreement may be achieved with small number of lesions, limitation and/or segmentation of body areas to reduce their number, in AK prevention designs, are strategies that may lead to a greater reliability of these measurements. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Test-retest reliability of a 3-min isokinetic all-out test using two different cadences

Objectives: To investigate the test-retest reliability of mechanical parameters derived from a 3-min isokinetic all-out test, performed at 60 and 100 rpm. Reliability and validity of the peak oxygen uptake derived from 3-min isokinetic all-out test were also tested. Design: 14 healthy male subjects completed an incremental ramp testing and four randomized 3-min isokinetic all-out test (two at 60 rpm and two at 100 rpm). Methods: The absolute and relative reliability of the following parameters were analyzed: peak power, mean power, end power, fatigue index, work performed above end power and peak oxygen uptake. Results: No difference was found between each two sets of data, although there were between-cadence differences for peak power, mean power, end power, and fatigue index. Higher intra-class correlation (ICC) and lower coefficient of variation (CV) were found for end power (ICC = 0.91 and 0.95; CV = 5.6 and 5.7%) and mean power (ICC = 0.97 and 0.98; CV = 2.4 and 3.1%), than for peak power (ICC = 0.81 and 0.84; CV = 8.7 and 10%) and work performed above end power (ICC = 0.79 and 0.84; CV = 7.9 and 10.6%; values reported for 60 rpm and 100 rpm, respectively). High reliability scores were also observed for peak oxygen uptake at both cadences (60 rpm, CV = 3.2%; 100 rpm, CV = 2.3%,) with no difference with the incremental ramp testing peak oxygen uptake. Conclusions: The power profile and peak oxygen uptake of a 3-min isokinetic all-out test are both highly reliable, whether the test is performed at 60 or 100 rpm. Besides, peak oxygen uptake and work performed above end power were not affected by the change in cadence while peak power, mean power, end power, and fatigue index were. © 2013.

Severity of temporomandibular disorders in women: validity and reliability of the Fonseca Anamnestic Index

The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of the Fonseca Anamnestic Index (IAF), used to assess the severity of temporomandibular disorders, applied to Brazilian women. We used a probabilistic sampling design. The participants were 700 women over 18 years of age, living in the city of Araraquara (SP). The IAF questionnaire was applied by telephone interviews. We conducted Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using Chi-Square Over Degrees of Freedom (χ2/df), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) as goodness of fit indices. We calculated the convergent validity, the average variance extracted (AVE) and the composite reliability (CR). Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α).The factorial weights of questions 8 and 10 were below the adequate values. Thus, we refined the original model and these questions were excluded. The resulting factorial model showed appropriate goodness of fit to the sample (χ2/df = 3.319, CFI = 0.978, TLI = 0.967, RMSEA = 0.058). The convergent validity (AVE = 0.513, CR = 0.878) and internal consistency (α = 0.745) were adequate. The reduced IAF version showed adequate validity and reliability in a sample of Brazilian women.