objective(s): reliability measures precision or the extent to which test results can be replicated. this is the first ever systematic review to identify statistical methods used to measure reliability of equipment measuring continuous variables. this studyalso aims to highlight the inappropriate statistical method used in the reliability analysis and its implication in the medical practice.   m...

The interpretation of coronary angiograms is indispensable in determining procedure in coronary surgery. The aim of this study was to measure the overall reliability of a group of surgeons in the interpretation of coronary angiograms, surgical procedure and the evaluation of operative risk. Ten coronary angiograms were interpreted by eight cardiac surgeons at four different medical centers. Eva...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE. Evaluation of physical therapy for gait disorders in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) requires an under-standing of how the patients' medication cycle affects function. Four experiments were conducted to investigate stability of gait variables. METHODS AND RESULTS. In experiment 1, 15 subjects with idiopathic PD and 15 subjects without PD performed two sets of gait...

Injury of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) is associated with gut dysmotility in diabetic rats. We have shown an acceleration of the colonic contractility by electroacupuncture stimulation (EAS). However, little is known about potential roles of EAS on colonic transit and ICC. In this study, we evaluate the effect of EAS on colonic transit and investigate whether apoptosis/proliferation of ICC...

We examined the structural and functional basis for pacemaking by interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) in circular smooth muscle of the canine ileum. Gap junctions were found between ICC of myenteric plexus (MyP), occasionally between MyP ICC and outer circular smooth muscle cells, between individual outer circular smooth muscle cells, between them and ICC of the deep muscular plexus (DMP), and be...

Background: Blood cardioplegia is a technique with many variations in its use. Intermittent cross clamping with Lidoflazine has proven to deliver good cardioprotection in our center. Question: Is tepid (32 ̊C) antegrade intermittent blood cardioplegia an efficient, safe and easy-to-use alternative to intermittent crossclamping with Lidoflazine in elective isolated CABG in low-risk patients? Prim...

OBJECTIVE To investigate differential diagnosis between intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) and arterial phase enhanced hepatic inflammatory lesions in patients without liver cirrhosis using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). METHODS ICC and hepatic inflammatory lesions cases with CEUS and pathological diagnosis between Sep 2013 and Oct 2016 were investigated retrospectively. Imaging feat...

The reliability of graph metrics calculated in network analysis is essential to the interpretation of complex network organization. These graph metrics are used to deduce the small-world properties in networks. In this study, we investigated the test-retest reliability of graph metrics from functional magnetic resonance imaging data collected for two runs in 45 healthy older adults. Graph metri...

In primary malignant liver tumors, trypsinogen-immunoreactivity was present in 70% of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) specimens, but absent in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens. We suggest the secretion of trypsinogen to be a key difference in biological behavior between ICC and HCC cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate the secretion of tumor-derived trypsin and the e...