Measurement of spore-carrying splash droplets using photographic film and an image-analyzing computer

An improved method for the sampling of splash droplets carrying fungal spores uses fixed photographic film. Droplets left clear, permanent traces within which spores were easily visible. The droplet spread factor was constant because the gelatine layer was uniform. A comparison of estimates of the numbers of splash droplets, spore-carrying droplets and spores dispersed by a 5 mm drop falling onto a spore suspension (depth 0.5 mm) with those obtained by other workers demonstrated the reliability of this method. The accuracy was improved by semi-automatic analysis of the spore-carrying splash droplet traces with an image-analysing computer.Peer reviewe

Describing Peripancreatic Collections According to the Revised Atlanta Classification of Acute Pancreatitis: An International Interobserver Agreement Study

Item does not contain fulltextOBJECTIVES: Severe acute pancreatitis is associated with peripancreatic morphologic changes as seen on imaging. Uniform communication regarding these morphologic findings is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment. For the original 1992 Atlanta classification, interobserver agreement is poor. We hypothesized that for the revised Atlanta classification, interobserver agreement will be better. METHODS: An international, interobserver agreement study was performed among expert and nonexpert radiologists (n = 14), surgeons (n = 15), and gastroenterologists (n = 8). Representative computed tomographies of all stages of acute pancreatitis were selected from 55 patients and were assessed according to the revised Atlanta classification. The interobserver agreement was calculated among all reviewers and subgroups, that is, expert and nonexpert reviewers; interobserver agreement was defined as poor (</=0.20), fair (0.21-0.40), moderate (0.41-0.60), good (0.61-0.80), or very good (0.81-1.00). RESULTS: Interobserver agreement among all reviewers was good (0.75 [standard deviation, 0.21]) for describing the type of acute pancreatitis and good (0.62 [standard deviation, 0.19]) for the type of peripancreatic collection. Expert radiologists showed the best and nonexpert clinicians the lowest interobserver agreement. CONCLUSIONS: Interobserver agreement was good for the revised Atlanta classification, supporting the importance for widespread adaption of this revised classification for clinical and research communications