Tag: nevin manimala

Biopreserv Biobank. 2023 Sep 7. doi: 10.1089/bio.2023.0007. Online ahead of print.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:37676979 | DOI:10.1089/bio.2023.0007

Telemed J E Health. 2023 Sep 7. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2023.0225. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Background: Telemedicine has expanded rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on telemedicine utilization are lacking, and racial/ethnic disparities in utilization and satisfaction are unknown among breast cancer patients. Methods: This was a longitudinal study, with two surveys conducted in 2020 and 2021, among patients enrolled in the Chicago Multiethnic Epidemiologic Breast Cancer Cohort. Telemedicine utilization was modeled using mixed-effects logistic regression. Telemedicine satisfaction, assessed using a 5-point Likert scale, was modeled using mixed-effects proportional odds regression. Qualitative data on satisfaction were coded and analyzed using grounded theory. Results: Of 1,721 respondents, most (70.3%) were White, followed by 23.6% Black, 3.1% Asian, and 3.0% Hispanic. The median duration from breast cancer diagnosis to survey was 5.5 years (interquartile range: 2.7-9.4). In 2020, 59.2% reported telemedicine use; in 2021, 64.9% did, with a statistically significant increase (p < 0.001). Black patients had greater odds of telemedicine use than White patients (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17-2.05). In 2020, 90.3% reported somewhat-to-extreme satisfaction; in 2021, 91.2% did, with a statistically significant, although clinically small, increase (p = 0.038). There were no racial/ethnic differences in telemedicine satisfaction between Black (AOR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.81-1.35), Asian (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.34-1.16), or Hispanic (AOR = 0.63, 95% CI: 0.33-1.21) and White patients. Major themes emerged from the respondents that explained their levels of satisfaction were convenience, safety, specialty dependence, and technical issues. Conclusions: Telemedicine utilization and satisfaction were high among breast cancer patients over time and across races/ethnicities. Telemedicine could have great potential in reducing barriers to care and promoting health equity for breast cancer patients. However, patients’ perceived challenges in accessing high-quality virtual care should be addressed.

PMID:37676974 | DOI:10.1089/tmj.2023.0225

PLoS One. 2023 Sep 7;18(9):e0287474. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287474. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

Vision has been shown to be an active process that can be shaped by top-down influences. Here, we add to this area of research by showing a surprising example of how visual perception can be affected by cognition (i.e., cognitive penetration). Observers were presented, on each trial, with a picture of a computer-generated football player and asked to rate the slenderness of the player on an analog scale. The results of two experiments showed that observers perceived athletes wearing small jersey numbers as more slender than those with high numbers. This finding suggests that the cognition of numbers quantitatively alters body size perception. We conjecture that this effect is the result of previously learned associations (i.e., prior expectations) affecting perceptual inference. Such associations are likely the result of implicit learning of the statistical regularities of number and size attributes co-occurrences by the nervous system. We discuss how these results are consistent with previous research on statistical learning and how they fit into the Bayesian framework of perception. The current finding supports the notion of top-down influences of cognition on perception.

PMID:37676917 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0287474

PLoS Genet. 2023 Sep 7;19(9):e1010921. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010921. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) aim to detect relationships between gene expression and a phenotype, and are commonly used for secondary analysis of genome-wide association study (GWAS) results. Results from TWAS analyses are often interpreted as indicating a genetic relationship between gene expression and a phenotype, but this interpretation is not consistent with the null hypothesis that is evaluated in the traditional TWAS framework. In this study we provide a mathematical outline of this TWAS framework, and elucidate what interpretations are warranted given the null hypothesis it actually tests. We then use both simulations and real data analysis to assess the implications of misinterpreting TWAS results as indicative of a genetic relationship between gene expression and the phenotype. Our simulation results show considerably inflated type 1 error rates for TWAS when interpreted this way, with 41% of significant TWAS associations detected in the real data analysis found to have insufficient statistical evidence to infer such a relationship. This demonstrates that in current implementations, TWAS cannot reliably be used to investigate genetic relationships between gene expression and a phenotype, but that local genetic correlation analysis can serve as a potential alternative.

PMID:37676898 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pgen.1010921

PLoS One. 2023 Sep 7;18(9):e0283308. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283308. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

The Gull Alpha Power Lomax distribution is a new extension of the Lomax distribution that we developed in this paper (GAPL). The proposed distribution’s appropriateness stems from its usefulness to model both monotonic and non-monotonic hazard rate functions, which are widely used in reliability engineering and survival analysis. In addition to their special cases, many statistical features were determined. The maximum likelihood method is used to estimate the model’s unknown parameters. Furthermore, the proposed distribution’s usefulness is demonstrated using two medical data sets dealing with COVID-19 patients’ mortality rates, as well as extensive simulated data applied to assess the performance of the estimators of the proposed distribution.

PMID:37676891 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0283308

PLoS One. 2023 Sep 7;18(9):e0288010. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288010. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

Refined handling improves laboratory mouse welfare and research outcomes when compared to traditional tail handling, yet implementation does not seem to be widespread. Refined handling includes picking up a mouse using a tunnel or cupped hands. The aim of this study was to determine the current prevalence of and beliefs towards refined handling using the theory of planned behavior. It was predicted that refined handling prevalence is low compared to traditional handling methods, and its implementation is determined by individual and institutional beliefs. Research personnel were recruited via online convenience sampling through email listservs and social media. A total of 261 participants in diverse roles (e.g. veterinarians, managers, caretakers, researchers, etc.) responded primarily from the USA (79%) and academic institutions (61%) Participants were surveyed about their current use, knowledge, and beliefs about refined handling. Quantitative data were analyzed via descriptive statistics and generalised regression. Qualitative data were analyzed by theme. Research personnel reported low levels of refined handling implementation, with only 10% of participants using it exclusively and a median estimate of only 10% of institutional mice being handled with refined methods. Individually, participants had positive attitudes, neutral norms, and positive control beliefs about refined handling. Participants’ intention to provide refined handling in the future was strongly associated with their attitudes, norms, and control beliefs (p<0.01). Participants believed barriers included jumpy mice, perceived incompatibility with restraint, lack of time, and other personnel. However, participants also believed refined handling was advantageous to mouse welfare, handling ease, personnel, and research. Although results from this survey indicate that current refined handling prevalence is low in this sample, personnel believe it has important benefits, and future use is associated with their beliefs about the practice. People who believed refined handling was good, felt pressure to use it, and were confident in their use reported higher implementation. Increased refined handling could be encouraged through education on misconceptions, highlighting advantages, and addressing important barriers.

PMID:37676886 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0288010

JMIR Form Res. 2023 Sep 7;7:e43825. doi: 10.2196/43825.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: About 59%-73% of Black women do not meet the recommended targets for physical activity (PA). PA is a key modifiable lifestyle factor that can help mitigate risk for chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and hypertension that disproportionately affect Black women. Web-based communities focused on PA have been emerging in recent years as web-based gathering spaces to provide support for PA in specific populations. One example is Black Girls Run (BGR), which is devoted to promoting PA in Black women.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the content shared on the BGR public Facebook page to provide insight into how web-based communities engage Black women in PA and inform the development of web-based PA interventions for Black women.

METHODS: Using Facebook Crowdtangle, we collected posts (n=397) and associated engagement data from the BGR public Facebook page for the 6-month period between June 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021. We pooled data in Dedoose to analyze the qualitative data and conducted a content analysis of qualitative data. We quantified types of posts, post engagement, and compared post types on engagement: “like,” “love,” “haha,” “wow,” “care,” “sad,” “angry,” “comments,” and “shares.”

RESULTS: The content analysis revealed 8 categories of posts: shout-outs to members for achievements (n=122, 31%), goals or motivational (n=65, 16%), announcements (n=63, 16%), sponsored or ads (n=54, 14%), health related (n=47, 11%), the lived Black experience (n=23, 6%), self-care (n=15, 4%), and holidays or greetings (n=8, 2%). The 397 posts attracted a total of 55,354 engagements (reactions, comments, and shares). Associations between the number of engagement and post categories were analyzed using generalized linear models. Shout-out posts (n=22,268) elicited the highest average of total user engagement of 181.7 (SD 116.7), followed by goals or motivational posts (n=11,490) with an average total engagement of 160.1 (SD 125.2) and announcements (n=7962) having an average total engagement of 129.9 (SD 170.7). Significant statistical differences were found among the total engagement of posts (χ₇²=80.99, P<.001), “like” (χ₇²=119.37, P<.001), “love” (χ₇²=63.995, P<.001), “wow” (χ₇²=23.73, P<.001), “care” (χ₇²=35.06, P<.001), “comments” (χ₇²=80.55, P<.001), and “shares” (χ₇²=71.28, P<.001).

CONCLUSIONS: The majority of content on the BGR Facebook page (n=250, 63%) was focused on celebrating member achievements, motivating members to get active, and announcing and promoting active events. These types of posts attracted 75% of total post engagement. BGR appears to be a rich web-based community that offers social support for PA as well as culturally relevant health and social justice content. Web-based communities may be uniquely positioned to engage minoritized populations in health behavior. Further research should explore how and if web-based communities such as BGR can be interwoven into health interventions and health promotion.

PMID:37676722 | DOI:10.2196/43825

JMIR Cancer. 2023 Sep 7;9:e42044. doi: 10.2196/42044.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer mortality among women globally. The use of mobile health tools such as apps and games is increasing rapidly, even in low- and middle-income countries, to promote early diagnosis and to manage care and support of survivors and patients.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this review was to categorize selected mobile health apps related to breast health and prevention of breast cancer, based on features such as breast self-examination (BSE) training and reminders, and to analyze their current dissemination. An ancillary objective was to highlight the limitations of existing tools and suggest ways to improve them.

METHODS: We defined strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, which required apps to have titles or descriptions that suggest that they were designed for the general public, and not for patients with breast cancer or health workers. Apps that focused on awareness and primary care via self-check were included, while those that focused on topics such as alternative treatments and medical news were excluded. Apps that were not specifically related to breast cancer were also excluded. Apps (in any language) that appeared in the search with keywords were included. The database consisted of apps from AppAgg and Google Play Store. Only 85 apps met the inclusion criteria. Selected apps were categorized on the basis of their alleged interactive features. Descriptive statistics were obtained, and available language options, the number of downloads, and the cost of the apps were the main parameters reviewed.

RESULTS: The selected apps were categorized on the basis of the following features: education, BSE training, reminders, and recording. Of the 85 selected apps, 72 (84.7%) focused on disseminating breast cancer information. BSE training was provided by only 47% (n=40) of the apps, and very few had reminder (n=26, 30.5%) and recording (n=11, 12.9%) features. The median number of downloads was the highest for apps with recording features (>1000 downloads) than those with education, BSE training, reminder, and recording features (>5000 downloads). Most of these apps (n=74, 83.5%) were monolingual, and around 80.3% (n=49) of these apps were in English. Almost all the apps on Google Play Store were free of charge.

CONCLUSIONS: Although there exist several apps on Google Play Store to promote awareness about breast health and cancer, the usefulness of most of them appears debatable. To provide a complete breast health package to the users, such apps must have all of the following features: reminders or notifications and symptom recording and tracking. There is still an urgent need to scientifically evaluate existing apps in the target populations in order to make them more functional and user-friendly.

PMID:37676704 | DOI:10.2196/42044

JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2023 Sep 7;9:e42446. doi: 10.2196/42446.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 outbreak has revealed a high demand for timely surveillance of pandemic developments. Google Trends (GT), which provides freely available search volume data, has been proven to be a reliable forecast and nowcast measure for public health issues. Previous studies have tended to use relative search volumes from GT directly to analyze associations and predict the progression of pandemic. However, GT’s normalization of the search volumes data and data retrieval restrictions affect the data resolution in reflecting the actual search behaviors, thus limiting the potential for using GT data to predict disease outbreaks.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to introduce a merged algorithm that helps recover the resolution and accuracy of the search volume data extracted from GT over long observation periods. In addition, this study also aimed to demonstrate the extended application of merged search volumes (MSVs) in combination of network analysis, via tracking the COVID-19 pandemic risk.

METHODS: We collected relative search volumes from GT and transformed them into MSVs using our proposed merged algorithm. The MSVs of the selected coronavirus-related keywords were compiled using the rolling window method. The correlations between the MSVs were calculated to form a dynamic network. The network statistics, including network density and the global clustering coefficients between the MSVs, were also calculated.

RESULTS: Our research findings suggested that although GT restricts the search data retrieval into weekly data points over a long period, our proposed approach could recover the daily search volume over the same investigation period to facilitate subsequent research analyses. In addition, the dynamic time warping diagrams show that the dynamic networks were capable of predicting the COVID-19 pandemic trends, in terms of the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases and severity risk scores.

CONCLUSIONS: The innovative method for handling GT search data and the application of MSVs and network analysis to broaden the potential for GT data are useful for predicting the pandemic risk. Further investigation of the GT dynamic network can focus on noncommunicable diseases, health-related behaviors, and misinformation on the internet.

PMID:37676701 | DOI:10.2196/42446

JAMA Netw Open. 2023 Sep 5;6(9):e2331988. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.31988.

ABSTRACT

IMPORTANCE: Compared with term-born peers, children born very preterm generally perform poorly in executive functions, particularly in working memory and inhibition. By taking advantage of neuroplasticity, computerized cognitive training of working memory in those children could improve visuospatial processing by boosting visual inhibition via working memory.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term effect of cognitive working memory training on visuospatial processing in children aged 5½ to 6 years born very preterm who have working memory impairment.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This multicenter (18 French university hospitals), open-label randomized clinical trial with 2 parallel groups (EPIREMED) was conducted from November 2016 to April 2018, with the last follow-up during August 2019. Eligible children from the EPIPAGE 2 cohort were aged 5½ to 6 years, were born between 24 and 34 weeks’ gestation, and had a global intelligence quotient greater than 70 and a working memory index less than 85. Data were analyzed from February to December 2020.

INTERVENTION: Children were randomized 1:1 to standard care management and a working memory cognitive training program (Cogmed software) for 8 weeks (25 sessions) (intervention) or to standard management (control).

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was the visuospatial index score from the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, 4th Edition. Secondary outcomes were working memory, intellectual functioning, executive and attention processes, language skills, behavior, quality of life, and schooling. Neurobehavioral assessments were performed at inclusion and after finishing training at 6 months (intermeditate assessment; secondary outcomes) and at 16 months (final assessment; primary outcome).

RESULTS: There were 169 children randomized, with a mean (SD) age of 5 years 11 months (2 months); 91 (54%) were female. Of the participants, 84 were in the intervention group (57 of whom [68%] completed at least 15 cognitive training sessions) and 85 were in the control group. The posttraining visuospatial index score was not different between groups at a mean (SD) of 3.0 (1.8) months (difference, -0.6 points; 95% CI, -4.7 to 3.5 points) or 12.9 (2.6) months (difference, 0.1 points; 95% CI, -5.4 to 5.1 points). The working memory index score in the intervention group significantly improved from baseline at the intermediate time point (difference, 4.7 points; 95% CI, 1.2-8.1 points), but this improvement was not maintained at the final assessment.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This randomized clinical trial found no lasting effect of a cognitive training program on visuospatial processing in children aged 5½ to 6 years with working memory disorders who were born very preterm. The findings suggest that this training has limited long-term benefits for improving executive function. Transient benefits seemed to be associated with the developmental state of executive functions.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02757794.

PMID:37676661 | DOI:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.31988