Category: Nevin Manimala

Scand J Occup Ther. 2023 Jan 17:1-8. doi: 10.1080/11038128.2022.2164350. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The Self-Assessment of Modes Questionnaire (SAMQ) is developed to help therapists identify their preferred use of modes when interacting with clients in clinical practice. A Danish translation of the SAMQ has been developed (D-SAMQ). To provide a robust instrument for occupational therapy practice and research, evaluation of the psychometric properties of the D-SAMQ is needed.

OBJECTIVES: The study aims to evaluate test-retest reliability, measurement error and content validity in terms of cultural relevance of the D-SAMQ.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Danish occupational therapists were recruited to represent diverse clinical settings and to work with various age groups. The D-SAMQ consists of 20 clinical cases. A repeated measures design was employed with evaluation of content validity at the second timepoint. The Content Validity Index and Kappa statistics were employed.

RESULTS: In most cases (n = 12, 60%) agreement (test-retest reliability and measurement error) was moderate or strong. Also, there was a moderate (n = 6 cases, 30%), strong (n = 4 cases, 20%) or almost perfect agreement (n = 10 cases, 50%) on the cultural relevance of the cases.

CONCLUSIONS: Acceptable test-retest reliability, measurement error and content validity were found. The SAMQ may support occupational therapists to adapt their therapeutic style to meet the needs of the clients.

PMID:36649478 | DOI:10.1080/11038128.2022.2164350

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Jan 24;120(4):e2213264120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2213264120. Epub 2023 Jan 17.

ABSTRACT

Adaptive immunity is driven by specific binding of hypervariable receptors to diverse molecular targets. The sequence diversity of receptors and targets are both individually known but because multiple receptors can recognize the same target, a measure of the effective “functional” diversity of the human immune system has remained elusive. Here, we show that sequence near-coincidences within T cell receptors that bind specific epitopes provide a new window into this problem and allow the quantification of how binding probability covaries with sequence. We find that near-coincidence statistics within epitope-specific repertoires imply a measure of binding degeneracy to amino acid changes in receptor sequence that is consistent across disparate experiments. Paired data on both chains of the heterodimeric receptor are particularly revealing since simultaneous near-coincidences are rare and we show how they can be exploited to estimate the number of epitope responses that created the memory compartment. In addition, we find that paired-chain coincidences are strongly suppressed across donors with different human leukocyte antigens, evidence for a central role of antigen-driven selection in making paired chain receptors public. These results demonstrate the power of coincidence analysis to reveal the sequence determinants of epitope binding in receptor repertoires.

PMID:36649423 | DOI:10.1073/pnas.2213264120

Circ Cardiovasc Interv. 2023 Jan;16(1):e012350. doi: 10.1161/CIRCINTERVENTIONS.122.012350. Epub 2023 Jan 17.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is increasingly used as a treatment option for unprotected left main stem artery (unprotected left main stem percutaneous intervention) disease. However, whether patient outcomes have improved over time is uncertain.

METHODS: Using the United Kingdom national PCI database, we studied all patients undergoing unprotected left main stem percutaneous intervention between 2009 and 2017. We excluded patients who presented with ST-segment-elevation, cardiogenic shock, and with an emergency indication for PCI.

RESULTS: Between 2009 and 2017, in the study-indicated population, 14 522 unprotected left main stem percutaneous intervention procedures were performed. Significant temporal changes in baseline demographics were observed with increasing patient age and comorbid burden. Procedural complexity increased over time, with the number of vessels treated, bifurcation PCI, number of stents used, and use of intravascular imaging and rotational atherectomy increased significantly through the study period. After adjustment for baseline differences, there were significant temporal reductions in the occurrence of peri-procedural myocardial infarction (P<0.001 for trend), in-hospital major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (P<0.001 for trend), and acute procedural complications (P<0.001 for trend). In multivariable analysis examining the associates of in-hospital major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events, while age per year (odds ratio, 1.02 [95% CIs, 1.01-1.03]), female sex (odds ratio, 1.47 [1.19-1.82]), 3 or more stents (odds ratio, 1.67 [05% [1.02-2.67]), and patient comorbidity were associated with higher rates of in-hospital major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events, by contrast use of intravascular imaging (odds ratio, 0.56 [0.45-0.70]), and year of PCI (odds ratio, 0.63 [0.46-0.87]) were associated with lower rates of in-hospital major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite trends for increased patient and procedural complexity, in-hospital patient outcomes have improved after unprotected left main stem percutaneous intervention over time.

PMID:36649390 | DOI:10.1161/CIRCINTERVENTIONS.122.012350

Res Comput Mol Biol. 2022 May;13278:86-106. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-04749-7_6. Epub 2022 Apr 29.

ABSTRACT

Principal component analysis (PCA) is a widely used dimensionality reduction technique in machine learning and multivariate statistics. To improve the interpretability of PCA, various approaches to obtain sparse principal direction loadings have been proposed, which are termed Sparse Principal Component Analysis (SPCA). In this paper, we present ThreSPCA, a provably accurate algorithm based on thresholding the Singular Value Decomposition for the SPCA problem, without imposing any restrictive assumptions on the input covariance matrix. Our thresholding algorithm is conceptually simple; much faster than current state-of-the-art; and performs well in practice. When applied to genotype data from the 1000 Genomes Project, ThreSPCA is faster than previous benchmarks, at least as accurate, and leads to a set of interpretable biomarkers, revealing genetic diversity across the world.

PMID:36649383 | PMC:PMC9836035 | DOI:10.1007/978-3-031-04749-7_6

Sci Signal. 2023 Jan 17;16(768):eabh1083. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.abh1083. Epub 2023 Jan 17.

ABSTRACT

Inflammasomes are intracellular protein complexes that promote an inflammatory host defense in response to pathogens and damaged or neoplastic tissues and are implicated in inflammatory disorders and therapeutic-induced toxicity. We investigated the mechanisms of activation for inflammasomes nucleated by NOD-like receptor (NLR) protiens. A screen of a small-molecule library revealed that several tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)-including those that are clinically approved (such as imatinib and crizotinib) or are in clinical trials (such as masitinib)-activated the NLRP3 inflammasome. Furthermore, imatinib and masitinib caused lysosomal swelling and damage independently of their kinase target, leading to cathepsin-mediated destabilization of myeloid cell membranes and, ultimately, cell lysis that was accompanied by potassium (K⁺) efflux, which activated NLRP3. This effect was specific to primary myeloid cells (such as peripheral blood mononuclear cells and mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells) and did not occur in other primary cell types or various cell lines. TKI-induced lytic cell death and NLRP3 activation, but not lysosomal damage, were prevented by stabilizing cell membranes. Our findings reveal a potential immunological off-target of some TKIs that may contribute to their clinical efficacy or to their adverse effects.

PMID:36649377 | DOI:10.1126/scisignal.abh1083

PLoS One. 2023 Jan 17;18(1):e0278670. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278670. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The mother-to-child transmission of HIV-1 (MTCT) remains on the major route of HIV-transmission among pediatric populations in Africa. Though a prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) high-priority country, data on the MTCT burdens in Cameroon remains fragmented.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the pooled MTCT rate, its risk-factors, and to characterize viral reservoirs of infected-children in Cameroon.

METHODS: All relevant observational cohort and cross-sectional studies conducted in Cameroon were searched from PubMed, African Journals Online, Google scholar, ScienceDirect and academic medical education databases. Heterogeneity and publication bias were respectively assessed by the I2 statistic and the Egger/funnel plot test. Meta-analysis was performed using the random effects model. MTCT rate >5% was considered as “high”. This review was registered in the Prospero database, CRD42021224497.

RESULTS: We included a total of 29 studies and analyzed 46 684 children born from HIV-positive mothers. The overall rate of MTCT was 7.00% (95% CI = 6.07-8.51). According to regions, the highest burden was in Adamaoua-region (17.51% [95% CI:14.21-21.07]) with only one study found. PMTCT option-B+ resulted in about 25% reduction of MTCT (8.97% [95% CI: 8.71-9.24] without option-B+ versus 2.88% [95% CI: 5.03-9.34] with option-B+). Regarding risk-factors, MTCT was significantly associated with the absence of PMTCT-interventions both in children (OR:5.40 [95% CI: 2.58-11.27]) and mothers (OR: 3.59 [95% CI: 2.15-5.99]). Regarding viral reservoirs, a pro-viral DNA mean of 3.34±1.05 log10/mL was observed among 5/57 children and archived HIV drug resistance mutations were identified in pro-viral DNA marker among 21/79 infected-children.

CONCLUSION: In spite of the dropdown in MTCT following option-B+ implementation, MTCT remains high in Cameroon, with substantial disparities across regions. Thus, in this era of option-B+, achieving MTCT elimination requires interventions in northern-Cameroon. The variation in pro-viral load in infected-children underlines the relevance of characterizing viral reservoirs for possible infection control in tropical settings.

PMID:36649370 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0278670

PLoS One. 2023 Jan 17;18(1):e0278665. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278665. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

Our knowledge about the underlying pathomechanisms of craniocervical junction abnormalities (CCJA) in dogs mostly derives from measurements based on tomographic imaging. These images are static and the positioning of the dogs’ head does not reflect the physiological in vivo position of the craniocervical junction (CCJ). Aberrant motion patterns and ranges of motion (ROM) in sound individuals of CCJA predisposed breeds may be a pathogenetic trigger. To further extend our limited knowledge of physiological motion of the CCJ, this prospective, comparative study investigates the in vivo motion patterns and ROM of the CCJ in walk and trot in sound Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and Chihuahuas. The Labrador retriever is used as a reference breed without predisposition for CCJA. This is the first detailed description of CCJ movement of trotting dogs. Biplanar fluoroscopy images, recorded in walking and trotting dogs, were matched to a virtual reconstruction of the skull and cranial cervical spine utilising Scientific Rotoscoping. Kinematic data reveal the same motion patterns among all breeds and gaits with individual temporal and spatial differences in each dog. A stride cycle-dependent lateral rotation of the cranial cervical spine and axial rotation of the atlantoaxial joint in trot in dogs is described for the first time. The ROM of the atlantoaxial and atlantooccipital joints in walk and trot were not statistically significantly greater in the CCJA-predisposed breeds CKCS and Chihuahua. ROM values of all translational and rotational degrees of freedom were larger in walk than trot, although this is only statistically significant for the atlantoaxial joint. Until proven otherwise, a more species-specific than breed-specific general motion pattern of the CCJ in walking and trotting, clinically sound dogs must be assumed. Species-specific anatomic properties of the CCJ seem to supersede breed-specific anatomical differences in clinically sound dogs.

PMID:36649366 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0278665

PLoS One. 2023 Jan 17;18(1):e0277085. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0277085. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

The prediction of energy consumption is of great significance to the stability of the regional energy supply. In previous research on energy consumption forecasting, researchers have constantly proposed improved neural network prediction models or improved machine learning models to predict time series data. Combining the well-performing machine learning model and neural network model in energy consumption prediction, we propose a hybrid model architecture of GRU-MMattention-LightGBM with feature selection based on Prophet decomposition. During the prediction process, first, the prophet features are extracted from the original time series. We select the best LightGBM model in the training set and save the best parameters. Then, the Prophet feature is input to GRU-MMattention for training. Finally, MLP is used to learn the final prediction weight between LightGBM and GRU-MMattention. After the prediction weights are learned, the final prediction result is determined. The innovation of this paper lies in that we propose a structure to learn the internal correlation between features based on Prophet feature extraction combined with the gating and attention mechanism. The structure also has the characteristics of a strong anti-noise ability of the LightGBM method, which can reduce the impact of the energy consumption mutation point on the overall prediction effect of the model. In addition, we propose a simple method to select the hyperparameters of the time window length using ACF and PACF diagrams. The MAPE of the GRU-MMattention-LightGBM model is 1.69%, and the relative error is 8.66% less than that of the GRU structure and 2.02% less than that of the LightGBM prediction. Compared with a single method, the prediction accuracy and stability of this hybrid architecture are significantly improved.

PMID:36649365 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0277085

PLoS Med. 2023 Jan 17;20(1):e1004166. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004166. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Globally, access to life-saving vaccines has improved considerably in the past 5 decades. However, progress has started to slow down and even reverse in recent years. Understanding subnational heterogeneities in essential child immunization will be critical for closing the global vaccination gap.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We use vaccination information for over 220,000 children across 1,366 administrative regions in 43 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) from the most recent Demographic and Health Surveys. We estimate essential immunization coverage at the national and subnational levels and quantify socioeconomic inequalities in such coverage using adjusted concentration indices. Within- and between-country variations are summarized via the Theil index. We use local indicator of spatial association (LISA) statistics to identify clusters of administrative regions with high or low values. Finally, we estimate the number of missed vaccinations among children aged 15 to 35 months across all 43 countries and the types of vaccines most often missed. We show that national-level vaccination rates can conceal wide subnational heterogeneities. Large gaps in child immunization are found across West and Central Africa and in South Asia, particularly in regions of Angola, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, and Afghanistan, where less than 10% of children are fully immunized. Furthermore, children living in these countries consistently lack all 4 basic vaccines included in the WHO’s recommended schedule for young children. Across most countries, children from poorer households are less likely to be fully immunized. The main limitations include subnational estimates based on large administrative divisions for some countries and different periods of survey data collection.

CONCLUSIONS: The identified heterogeneities in essential childhood immunization, especially given that some regions consistently are underserved for all basic vaccines, can be used to inform the design and implementation of localized intervention programs aimed at eliminating child suffering and deaths from existing and novel vaccine-preventable diseases.

PMID:36649359 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pmed.1004166

J Med Internet Res. 2023 Jan 17;25:e43532. doi: 10.2196/43532.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The minority stress model postulates that men who have sex with men (MSM) often encounter multiple stressors because of their sexual minority status, which may lead to psychological problems and maladaptive coping such as addictive behaviors (eg, internet gaming disorder [IGD]). It was hypothesized that hopelessness and loneliness would be associated with IGD via self-control among MSM.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the prevalence of IGD and its associations with variables related to minority stress (loneliness and hopelessness) among MSM who were university students. Mediation involving such associations via self-control was also explored.

METHODS: With informed consent, 305 MSM attending universities in Sichuan, China participated in the study. The validated Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) checklist was used to assess IGD. Multivariable logistic regression adjusted for background factors and structural equation modeling were conducted.

RESULTS: The prevalence of IGD was 12.8% (n=39). Logistic regression found that IGD was positively associated with hopelessness and loneliness, and negatively associated with self-control. The structural equation modeling identified three significant paths between hopelessness/loneliness and IGD: (1) hopelessness → lower self-control → higher IGD (full mediation), (2) loneliness → lower self-control → higher IGD (partial mediation: effect size of 28%), and (3) a direct effect from loneliness to IGD.

CONCLUSIONS: IGD was prevalent among young MSM and warrants interventions that may try to reduce the level of psychosocial problems such as loneliness and hopelessness and improve self-control. According to the socioecological model, the promotion of social acceptance and reduction in stigma toward MSM are important in reducing loneliness and hopefulness among MSM. Self-control links up the relationships between psychosocial problems and IGD and should be given special attention. Longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm the findings and test new mediations between loneliness/hopelessness and MSM with IGD.

PMID:36649059 | DOI:10.2196/43532