Category: Nevin Manimala

J Appl Biomech. 2021 Mar 8:1-7. doi: 10.1123/jab.2020-0206. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Knee osteoarthritis is thought to result, in part, from excessive and unbalanced joint loading. Toe-in and toe-out gait modifications produce alterations in external knee joint moments, and some improvements in pain over the short- and long-term. The aim of this study was to probe mechanisms of altered joint loading through the assessment of tibiofemoral contact in standing with toe-in and toe-out positions using an open magnetic resonance scanner. In this study, 15 young, healthy participants underwent standing magnetic resonance imaging of one of their knees in 3 foot positions. Images were analyzed to determine contact in the tibiofemoral joint, with primary outcomes including centroid of contact and contact area for each compartment and overall. The centroid of contact shifted laterally in the lateral compartment with both toe-in and toe-out postures, compared with the neutral position (P < .01), while contact area in the medial and lateral compartments showed no statistical differences. Findings from this study indicate that changes in the loading anatomy are present in the tibiofemoral joint with toe-in and toe-out and that a small amount of lateralization of contact, especially in the lateral compartment, does occur with these altered lower limb orientations.

PMID:33690165 | DOI:10.1123/jab.2020-0206

IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph. 2021 Mar 10;PP. doi: 10.1109/TVCG.2021.3065124. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This paper contributes a novel visualization method, Missingness Glyph, for analysis and exploration of missing values in data. Missing values are a common challenge in most data generating domains and may cause a range of analysis issues. Missingness in data may indicate potential problems in data collection and pre-processing, or highlight important data characteristics. While the development and improvement of statistical methods for dealing with missing data is a research area in its own right, mainly focussing on replacing missing values with estimated values, considerably less focus has been put on visualization of missing values. Nonetheless, visualization and explorative analysis has great potential to support understanding of missingness in data, and to enable gaining of novel insights into patterns of missingness in a way that statistical methods are unable to. The Missingness Glyph supports identification of relevant missingness patterns in data, and is evaluated and compared to two other visualization methods in context of the missingness patterns. The results are promising and confirms that the Missingness Glyph in several cases perform better than the alternative visualization methods.

PMID:33690119 | DOI:10.1109/TVCG.2021.3065124

J Med Internet Res. 2021 Mar 4. doi: 10.2196/27009. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The dissemination of rumor rebuttal on social media is vital for rumor control and disease containment during the public health crisis. Previous researches on the effectiveness of rumor rebuttal, to a certain extent, ignored or simplified the structure of dissemination network and users’ cognition, decision-making and interaction behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: This research aimed to roughly evaluate the effectiveness of rumor rebuttal, deeply dig into the attitude-based echo chamber effect in the users’ response towards rumor rebuttal under multiple topics on Weibo, a Chinese social media, in the early stage of COVID-19 epidemic, and its impact on information characteristics of user interaction content.

METHODS: We called Sina Weibo API to crawl rumor rebuttal related to COVID-19 from 10:00 a.m. on January 23, 2020 to 0:00 a.m. on April 8, 2020. Using content analysis, sentiment analysis, social network analysis and statistical analysis, we first analyzed whether and to what extent there was echo chamber effect in individual’s attitude shaping when retweeting or commenting on others. Then, we tested the heterogeneity of attitude distribution within communities and the homophily of interactions between communities. Based on the results of user- and community- levels, we made comprehensive judgments. Finally, we examined the users’ interaction content from three dimensions of sentimental expression, information seeking/sharing, and civilization to test the impact of echo chamber effect.

RESULTS: Our results indicated that the retweeting mechanism played an essential role in promoting polarization and the commenting mechanism in consensus building, denied that there might be significant echo chamber effect in community interaction, and verified that compared to like-minded interactions, cross-cutting interactions significantly contained more negative sentiment, information seeking/sharing and incivility. Besides, we found that online users’ information seeking was accompanied by incivility, and information sharing was accompanied by more negative sentiment, which was often accompanied by incivility.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings revealed the existence and degree of echo chamber effect from multiple dimensions (such as topic, interaction mechanism, interaction level) and its impact on interaction content. These findings can provide several suggestions for preventing or alleviating group polarization to achieve better rumor rebuttal.

PMID:33690145 | DOI:10.2196/27009

Eur J Endocrinol. 2021 Mar 1:EJE-20-1253.R1. doi: 10.1530/EJE-20-1253. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Testosterone is a critical determinant of health in both genders. However, the relationship between circulating levels of testosterone and mortality remains undetermined.

METHODS: We examined the associations of serum total testosterone (TT) and free testosterone (FT) with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in 154,965 men and 93,314 postmenopausal women from UK Biobank. Cox regression models were used to calculate the hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). Given multiple testing, P < 0.005 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: Over a median follow-up of 8.9 (inter-quartile range, 8.3-9.5) years, we documented 5,754 deaths in men, including 1,243 (21.6%) from CVD and 2,987 (51.9%) from cancer. In postmenopausal women, 2,435 deaths occurred, including 346 (14.2%) from CVD and 1,583 (65.0%) from cancer. TT and FT concentrations were inversely associated with all-cause mortality in men, with the multivariable HR of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.75-0.91) and 0.80 (95% CI: 0.73-0.87) for the highest (Q5) versus the lowest quintile (Q1), respectively. In postmenopausal women, TT concentrations showed a positive association with all-cause mortality (HR for Q5 versus Q1 = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.06-1.37). Furthermore, higher TT and FT concentrations were associated with a lower risk of cancer mortality in men (both P for trend = 0.001), whereas TT concentrations were suggestively associated with a higher risk of cancer mortality in postmenopausal women (P for trend = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that high levels of circulating testosterone may be beneficial for all-cause and cancer mortality in men but detrimental in postmenopausal women.

PMID:33690154 | DOI:10.1530/EJE-20-1253

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Mar 9:tpmd201451. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-1451. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has significantly increased the mortality and morbidity rates worldwide. The present study was conducted to assess the general public’s awareness of COVID-19 and its association with mental health, dietary habits, and physical activity. A web-based survey was conducted to gather information about demographics, knowledge about COVID-19, dietary habits, mental health, and anthropometry among the general public of Pakistan. Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and multiple logistic regression were used for data analysis. The majority of the participants were suffering from anxiety (71.0%) and depression (52.0%) during the COVID-19 pandemic; 32.4% of participants had poor COVID-19-related knowledge. COVID-19 lockdown reduced the physical activity of 66.9% of participants and increased weight of 38.8% of the survey participants. Demographic variables, including age, gender, ethnicity, education, employment, family type, and geographical location, were significantly associated with knowledge about COVID-19 (P < 0.05). Depression was inversely associated with COVID-19 knowledge (P < 0.05). Healthy changes in dietary habits including decreased consumption of fast foods, soft and cola drinks, fruit drinks, cooked meat (outside the home), sugar, and fats, and were associated with increased knowledge of COVID-19. Vitamin C and immunity-boosting supplement consumption were significantly associated with increased knowledge regarding COVID-19 (< 0.05). Inadequate knowledge about COVID-19 and the presence of anxiety and depression were found among most of the study participants. There is a need to conduct educational seminars to limit the health consequences resulting from COVID-19 lockdown.

PMID:33690156 | DOI:10.4269/ajtmh.20-1451

Appl Ergon. 2021 Mar 6;94:103384. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103384. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Despite female soldiers representing a growing user population, military body armour systems are currently better suited to the anthropometric dimensions of male soldiers. The aim of this study was to explore issues that female soldiers experience with current Australian Defence Force (ADF)-issue body armour. Following a sequential exploratory design, an initial questionnaire was completed by 97 Australian female soldiers. Subsequently, 33 Australian female soldiers participated in one of three focus groups. Descriptive statistics of questionnaire data considered alongside thematic analysis of focus group transcripts revealed problems with the design (fit, form and function) of current ADF-issue body armour, as well as problems with the issuance and education surrounding use of the system. It is recommended that anthropometric data of female soldiers be better incorporated into future body armour designs, that these data inform processes surrounding both acquisition and issuance of body armour and that training protocols for body armour use be reviewed.

PMID:33690018 | DOI:10.1016/j.apergo.2021.103384

J Surg Res. 2021 Mar 6;263:207-214. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2021.01.043. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Childhood papillary thyroid cancer is more aggressive than carcinomas in adults. Current American Thyroid Association pediatric guidelines recommend a total or near-total thyroidectomy for all pediatric patients without gross evidence of lymph node metastases. Our objective is to analyze trends in the surgical management of pediatric papillary thyroid cancer and assess how well the guidelines are implemented.

METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients (ages 19 y and under) who underwent a thyroidectomy was conducted using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database 2006-2017. Procedure type was classified as lobectomy or less and subtotal or total thyroidectomy. Descriptive statistics to illustrate patient and tumor characteristics as well as chi-square analysis to evaluate frequency of treatment with total thyroidectomies versus lobectomy or less were performed. Logistic regression analysis controlling for age, sex, size of tumor, rural versus urban institutions, and surgery year was conducted to identify factors predictive of procedure type.

RESULTS: A total of 2271 children underwent surgical management of papillary thyroid cancer between 2006 and 2017. Most patients received a subtotal or total thyroidectomy as surgical management (n = 2,085, 91.8%). One hundred eighty-six patients (8.2%) received a lobectomy or less. The number of lobectomies or less increased with time, with 41 (6.6%) patients between 2006 and 2009, 98 (8.0%) between 2009 and 2015, and 47 (11.1%) between 2016 and 2017 (P = 0.03). Mortality rates were low (n = 15, 0.7%). On logistic regression analysis, later stages, larger sizes, and earlier operative years were predictive of a near-total or total thyroidectomy.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite the American Thyroid Association Guidelines recommending a total thyroidectomy for pediatric well-differentiated thyroid cancer, the results of this study demonstrate that thyroid lobectomies are being performed in increasing frequency for smaller tumors in earlier stages of disease. Further investigation of whether this trend actually affects the outcomes in this patient cohort is needed.

PMID:33690052 | DOI:10.1016/j.jss.2021.01.043

Seizure. 2021 Mar 4;87:56-60. doi: 10.1016/j.seizure.2021.03.003. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and period prevalence of epilepsy in the Republic of North Macedonia, an upper-middle-income country with universal access to healthcare, based on a nationwide healthcare platform (NHP).

METHODS: NHP contains reports from all inpatient and outpatient medical encounters and procedures, and all electronic medical records are linked together with a unique patient number. We performed the analysis of the data maintained at the Macedonian Ministry of Health, concerning the five years of the study (2014 through 2018). Population and demographic data for each year were obtained from the State Statistical Office.

RESULTS: The period prevalence was 6.67 per 1,000 inhabitants. There were 6383 (46.2%) females and 7435 (53.8%) males; the gender difference was significant: 6.17 per 1,000 females and 7.16 per 1,000 males (p = 0.0000). Between 2015 and 2018 the median annual incidence of epilepsy was 68 new epilepsy patients per 100,000, with an upward trend over time. The age-specific incidence was high in childhood and adolescence, was constant (and low) in the adult years, and gradually increased in each successive age group after the age of 50 years. The greatest incidence was found in group 70-79 years of age. The incidence in childhood and adolescence tends to gradually decrease from 2015 to 2018, while it progressively increased in population over 50 years of age, which may explain a rise in overall incidence. We found a statistically significant higher incidence in males than in females, a ratio consistently being 1.2: 1.

CONCLUSION: The data from the study provides accurate findings on the prevalence and incidence of epilepsy in the upper-middle-income Southeastern European country.

PMID:33690108 | DOI:10.1016/j.seizure.2021.03.003

Pract Radiat Oncol. 2021 Mar 6:S1879-8500(21)00059-X. doi: 10.1016/j.prro.2021.02.009. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the contemporary distribution of medical physics (MP) employment opportunities across the country.

METHODS: An annual record (2018-19) of advertised full-time MP jobs were created using publicly available information from the aapm.org, American Association of Physicists in Medicine – AAPM and indeed.com websites. Listed jobs were categorized based on the position name, work experience, job function, and geographical region. To account for regional population differences, a preponderance of employment opportunities per 10 million was computed. Using CAMPEP residency accreditation data the nationwide locations of the MP training centers and the number of residency positions per annum were identified. A Chi-square goodness of fit test was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: A total of 441 unique MP jobs were reported nationwide per annum (2018-19). The highest percentage of MP jobs was reported from the South (33.6%), and the lowest (17.2%) was from the West region. Current analysis revealed 148 (33.6%) jobs were academic and 293 (66.4%) non-academic. The South shows the highest overall academic jobs (31.8%), while the West had the lowest (13.5%). Regionally, the highest percentage of academic jobs (46.9%) were reported from the Northeast, while the West showed the lowest (26.3%). The analysis of academic versus non-academic job comparison by regions shows statistically significant (P=0.0133) differences. The Midwest and the West regions showed the highest (18.2) and lowest (10.24) number of jobs per unit population, measured in 10 million.

CONCLUSION: This is one of the first national quantitative job data analyses of the MP job distributions. This study revealed the current level of demand for qualified candidates demonstrating an imbalance between academic and non-academic positions over the regions. Moreover, the geographical distribution of job listings deviated significantly from expectation given the relative population of each region.

PMID:33689922 | DOI:10.1016/j.prro.2021.02.009

Environ Pollut. 2021 Feb 22;278:116752. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116752. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Stillbirth has a great impact on contemporary and future generations. Increasing evidence show that ambient air pollution exposure is associated with stillbirth. However, previous studies showed inconsistent findings. To clarify the effect of maternal air pollution exposure on stillbirth, we searched for studies examining the associations between air pollutants, including particulate matter (diameter ≤ 2.5 μm [PM_2.5] and ≤10 μm [PM₁₀]) and gaseous pollutants (sulfur dioxide [SO₂], nitrogen dioxide [NO₂], carbon monoxide [CO] and ozone [O₃]), and stillbirth published in PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane Library until December 11, 2020. The pooled effect estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, and the heterogeneity was evaluated using Cochran’s Q test and I² statistic. Publication bias was assessed using funnel plots and Egger’s tests. Of 7546 records, 15 eligible studies were included in this review. Results of long-term exposure showed that maternal third trimester PM_2.5 and CO exposure (per 10 μg/m³ increment) increased the odds of stillbirth, with estimated odds ratios (ORs) of 1.094 (95% CI: 1.008-1.180) and 1.0009 (95% CI: 1.0001-1.0017), respectively. Entire pregnancy exposure to PM_2.5 was also associated with stillbirth (OR: 1.103, 95% CI: 1.074-1.131). A 10 μg/m³ increment in O₃ in the first trimester was associated with stillbirth, and the estimated OR was 1.028 (95% CI: 1.001-1.055). Short-term exposure (on lag day 4) to O₃ was also associated with stillbirth (OR: 1.002, 95% CI: 1.001-1.004). PM₁₀, SO₂ and NO₂ exposure had no significant effects on the incidence of stillbirth. Additional well-designed cohort studies and investigations regarding potential biological mechanisms are warranted to elaborate the suggestive association that may help improve intergenerational inequality.

PMID:33689950 | DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116752