Automatic Scale Severity Assessment Method in Psoriasis Skin Images Using Local Descriptors

Nicotiana tabacum, a non-natural host, is an excellent plant model for biological and functional genomics studies on plant host-Xylella fastidiosa interactions. Symptoms by X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca on tobacco have been characterized but current severity assessment method is an ordinal scale developed for symptoms on citrus. We designed a standard area diagram (SAD) to aid in the visual estimation of percent area affected (% severity) and performed a multi-laboratory validation on tobacco cv. 'Havana inoculated with X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca. Inoculated plants were monitored over time and digital images of the symptoms were obtained. Three different softwares (APS Asses, ImageJ and Leaf Doctor) were used to segment the images and calculate % severity. Ten true-color images composed a 10-image SAD (0.5, 5, 10, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 and 75%). Fifty raters at four laboratories assigned % severity first without and then with the SAD on the same testing image set of 40 images following the same instructions provided by an examiner at each Laboratory. The means of % severity by all softwares were assumed to represent the actual % severity given the perfect agreement between them. The unaided estimates were less precise, biased towards overestimation (up to 50 percent points) and less concordant between raters. Accuracy and precision varied considerably among the raters and effect of the SAD on the overall concordance to the actual severity was dependent on the Laboratory; in all but one Laboratory, the group means of the agreement index statistically improved. The between-rater agreement improved in all Laboratories when using the SAD. The SAD may help to standardize and allow comparison across different laboratories, but care should be taken during instructions on how to discriminate symptoms that are not readily discernible as well as on how to correctly use of the SAD.

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Delir-Diagnostik

Zeitschrift für Gerontopsychologie & -psychiatrie ◽

10.1024/1011-6877.20.23.135 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 20 (2-3) ◽

pp. 135-139

Author(s):

B. Dittrich ◽

G. Gatterer ◽

T. Frühwald ◽

U. Sommeregger

Keyword(s):

Confusion Assessment Method ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Psychische Störung ◽

Confusion Assessment

Zusammenfassung: Das Delir (“akuter Verwirrtheitszustand”) bezeichnet eine psychische Störung, die plötzlich auftritt, durch eine rasche Fluktuation von Bewusstseinslage und Aufmerksamkeitsleistung gekennzeichnet ist und eine organische Ursache hat. Dieses Störungsbild nimmt bei Patienten im höheren Lebensalter deutlich an Häufigkeit zu und verursacht durch verlängerte Krankenhausaufenthalte und ungünstige Krankheitsverläufe erhebliche Kosten im Gesundheitssystem. Daher erscheint eine möglichst frühe Erkennung deliranter Zustandsbilder gerade im Rahmen der Geriatrie von großer Bedeutung. Zu diesem Zweck wurde eine deutsche Version der international weit verbreiteten Confusion Assessment Method entwickelt, die für die Bedürfnisse einer Abteilung für Akutgeriatrie modifiziert wurde. Dargestellt werden die Entwicklung und erste Erfahrungen mit diesem Instrument.

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The Need Inventory of Sensation Seeking (NISS)

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000085 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 28 (1) ◽

pp. 11-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Marcus Roth ◽

Philipp Hammelstein

Keyword(s):

Sensation Seeking ◽

Reliability And Validity ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Factorial Structure ◽

Conventional Methods ◽

New Research ◽

Sensation Seeking Scale ◽

Temperamental Trait ◽

Nonclinical Study

Based on the conception of sensation seeking as a need rather than a temperamental trait ( Hammelstein, 2004 ), we present a new assessment method, the Need Inventory of Sensation Seeking (NISS), which is considered to assess a motivational disposition. Three studies are presented: The first examined the factorial structure and the reliability of the German versions of the NISS; the second study compared the German and the English versions of the NISS; and finally, the validity of the NISS was examined in a nonclinical study and compared to the validity of conventional methods of assessing sensation seeking (Sensation Seeking Scale – Form V; SSS-V). Compared to the SSS-V, the NISS shows better reliability and validity in addition to providing new research possibilities including application in experimental areas.

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An Empirical Analysis of the Obtrusiveness of and Participants' Compliance with the Electronically Activated Recorder (EAR)

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759.23.4.248 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 248-257 ◽

Cited By ~ 58

Author(s):

Matthias R. Mehl ◽

Shannon E. Holleran

Keyword(s):

Empirical Analysis ◽

Sampling Method ◽

Daily Life ◽

Assessment Method ◽

Data Confidentiality ◽

Short Term ◽

Naturally Occurring ◽

Two Samples ◽

Audio Recorder ◽

Term Monitoring

Abstract. In this article, the authors provide an empirical analysis of the obtrusiveness of and participants' compliance with a relatively new psychological ambulatory assessment method, called the electronically activated recorder or EAR. The EAR is a modified portable audio-recorder that periodically records snippets of ambient sounds from participants' daily environments. In tracking moment-to-moment ambient sounds, the EAR yields an acoustic log of a person's day as it unfolds. As a naturalistic observation sampling method, it provides an observer's account of daily life and is optimized for the assessment of audible aspects of participants' naturally-occurring social behaviors and interactions. Measures of self-reported and behaviorally-assessed EAR obtrusiveness and compliance were analyzed in two samples. After an initial 2-h period of relative obtrusiveness, participants habituated to wearing the EAR and perceived it as fairly unobtrusive both in a short-term (2 days, N = 96) and a longer-term (10-11 days, N = 11) monitoring. Compliance with the method was high both during the short-term and longer-term monitoring. Somewhat reduced compliance was identified over the weekend; this effect appears to be specific to student populations. Important privacy and data confidentiality considerations around the EAR method are discussed.

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