Cross-sectional growth standards for captive baboons: II. Organ weight by body weight.

We present the first cross-sectional organ weight by body weight reference standards for captive baboons (Papio hamadryas). Organ weight data were obtained from necropsy reports for 634 healthy, pedigreed, captive female and male baboons. From summary statistics we calculated and fit cross-sectional sex-specific percentile curves for: adrenals, brain, eyes, heart, kidneys, liver plus gall bladder, lungs, pancreas, pituitary gland, spleen, and thyroid gland in three kilogram body weight intervals and cross-sectional summary statistics by sex for each organ in one kilogram body weight intervals.

Cross-sectional growth standards for captive baboons: I. Organ weight by chronological age.

We present the first cross-sectional organ weight reference standards for captive baboons (Papio hamadryas). Organ weight data were obtained from necropsy reports for 634 healthy, pedigreed, captive female and male baboons. From summary statistics we calculated and fit cross-sectional, sex-specific percentile curves for: adrenals, brain, eyes, heart, kidneys, liver plus gall bladder, lungs, pancreas, pituitary gland, spleen, and thyroid gland in two year age class intervals and summary statistics by sex for each organ in one year age classes.

Automation of a Flow Cytometry Clinical and Research Laboratory.

We developed a system to automate a Flow Cytometry Clinical and Research Laboratory. Five major functions are accomplished: 1) patient demographic data entry, 2) specimen results data transfer, 3) procedure transcription and reporting, 4) data query, and 5) data backup and archiving. These are achieved by inter-linking two computers with dissimilar operating systems with a Fluorescence Activated Cell Analyzer (FACScan), several commercially available software systems, an IEEE-488 GPIB parallel cable interface using IEEE protocol and Hewlett Packard User Group software (HPPCLINK), and a customized in-house developed laboratory automation system for integrated database management. The system consists of data entry and editing, procedure results reporting, data query, and data archiving modules. The system design ensures data integrity, quality, and confidentiality.

Real-time digital processing of blood pressure and heart rate data of tethered nonhuman primates.

To facilitate data analysis, we developed a computerized system for collecting and screening systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure, and heart rate data. Each value is tested for acceptability (filtered), in real-time, by a computer algorithm. Level one, spike detection, is performed by independently comparing each datum to specified upper and lower limits. Level two, damping detection, is applied to data which passed level one and is categorized as mild, severe, or none. We monitored 69 tethered conscious baboons for approximately eight 12-hour overnight periods to obtain 23,433,000 one-second data points per variable. The computerized system eliminated approximately 65% of unacceptable data and highlighted problems, thus reducing the time required to inspect digital files or analog hard-copy recordings. No acceptable data were rejected by the filter and all data rejected by the filter also were unacceptable by data inspection.

A computer program for calculating kappa: application to interexaminer agreement in periodontal research.

The kappa statistic is a frequently used measure of interobserver agreement when two or more observers are asked to rate the same items or subjects on some criterion. The advantage of the kappa statistic over simple agreement is that it corrects for agreement by chance. In dental research, because multiple examiners may be involved in assessing subject variables such as attachment loss, bleeding on probing, or periodontal pocket depth, some statistical measure of agreement is needed. The program described here was developed for estimating agreement among periodontal examiners, but also could be used in clinical teaching applications. Assumptions and limitations of the kappa statistic are discussed. Examples of outputs illustrate applications of the program.

Effects of selective breeding on the cholesterolemic responses to dietary saturated fat and cholesterol in baboons.

Positive assortative mating of baboons (Papio sp.) based on elevation of serum cholesterol concentrations in response to a cholesterol- and saturated fat-enriched diet produced 64 progeny (30 high line; 34 low line). When the animals were 3 to 4 years of age, we tested their lipoprotein cholesterol responses to dietary cholesterol and fat in a factorial experiment with two levels of dietary cholesterol (1.7 and less than 0.01 mg/kcal) and two types of fat, coconut oil (P/S 0.1) and corn oil (P/S 3.5), each providing 40% of total calories from fat; we also tested their responses to chow. The high line animals had significantly higher very low density plus low density lipoprotein (VLDL + LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels on all diets. The effects of dietary cholesterol on VLDL + LDL cholesterol concentrations were greater in high line animals than in low line animals, but dietary cholesterol's effects on HDL cholesterol were similar in both lines. The effects of saturated fat, compared to unsaturated fat, on both VLDL + LDL and HDL cholesterol levels were similar in both lines. Selective breeding produced lines diverging in lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations by acting on several different genetically mediated processes that control serum lipoprotein levels. At least one of these processes involves responsiveness of serum VLDL + LDL cholesterol concentration to dietary cholesterol.

Effects of two forms of hypertension on atherosclerosis in the hyperlipidemic baboon.

We examined the relationship of hypertension and plasma renin activity to atherogenesis in 48 moderately hyperlipidemic (total serum cholesterol was about 200 mg/dl) baboons (Papio sp.). We used renal artery stenosis (two-kidney, one clip model) to produce hypertension associated with elevated plasma renin activity, and used cellophane wrapping of both kidneys (bilateral perinephritis model) to produce hypertension with normal renin activity. Renal artery stenosis and bilateral perinephritis increased both systolic and diastolic blood pressure by about 30 mm Hg. Renal artery stenosis approximately doubled, but bilateral perinephritis did not change plasma renin activity. Both hypertensive groups, to about the same degree, had significantly more extensive atherosclerosis than the control group in the abdominal aorta and brachial, iliac-femoral, and carotid arteries. The effect of hypertension was greatest in the carotid arteries where the extent of atherosclerosis was nearly tripled. Hypertension did not influence lesions in the thoracic aorta. By multiple regression analysis, very low plus low density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and systolic blood pressure were consistently strong predictive variables for the extent of atherosclerotic lesions. Most of the effects of renal hypertension on atherosclerotic lesions appeared to be accounted for by the increase in blood pressure. In the carotid arteries, however, there was a suggestion of an effect above that due to increased blood pressure. Additional analyses indicated that these treatment effects were associated with serum potassium concentration, plasma renin activity, or other closely related variables.

Ensuring data quality in medical research through an integrated data management system.

An effective data management system ensures high quality research data by making certain of the proper execution of the study design. This paper presents the components of a data management system and describes procedures for use in each component of the system to obtain high quality data. We discuss the interrelationship among the components of the data management system and the relationship of the data management system to other parts of the research project. We identify underlying principles in design and implementation of a data management system to ensure high quality data.