Tag: pubmed

JMIR Form Res. 2026 Aug 11;10:e93017. doi: 10.2196/93017.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Electronic health record (EHR) data are being increasingly used for retrospective observational research through large, robust databases, and advanced data extraction tools.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to assess the reliability of vital sign, ventilator, and continuous medication data captured in the EHR in a pediatric intensive care unit.

METHODS: We conducted a prospective concordance study of children receiving invasive mechanical ventilation in June 2025. Data sources included (1) a bedside clinical researcher, (2) automated EHR extraction, and (3) a continuous vital sign monitoring system. Vital signs from the EHR were compared to those obtained through the continuous vital sign monitoring system. Ventilator and medication data were compared to the bedside observations. Differences were measured as means with SDs or median differences with IQRs, and a 10% error rate was used as a concordance adequacy threshold.

RESULTS: We obtained 110 bedside observations from 27 unique patients. Five of 8 measured vital signs in the EHR met the 10% concordance adequacy threshold (respiratory rate, 2.0/20.4, 9.8%; cuff systolic blood pressure, 8.3/99.4, 8.4%; invasive systolic blood pressure, 4.0/88.0, 4.5%; invasive diastolic blood pressure, 3.8/50.0, 7.6%; and oxygen saturation, 2/96, 2.1%), with heart rate (11.4/113, 10.1%), cuff diastolic blood pressure (9/58.6, 15.3%), and end-tidal carbon dioxide (4.0/36.6, 10.9%) failing to meet concordance. Occasional rare clinically meaningful outliers were observed, such as a systolic blood pressure difference of 31 mm Hg, a heart rate difference of 87 beats per minute, and a respiratory rate difference of 18 breaths per minute. All 6 ventilator settings met concordance adequacy criteria between the EHR and the bedside observations, with a median difference of 0.0 (IQR 0-0). Outliers were less common but included differences such as a respiratory rate of 34 breaths per minute and an inspiratory time of 0.3 seconds. Continuous medication dosing concordance was variable, with an overall low concordance between 30.8% (339.3/11) and 31.4% (345.4/11).

CONCLUSIONS: EHR data captured in the pediatric intensive care unit in our single-center sample were mostly concordant with other measured observations for vital signs and ventilator settings, but less concordant for continuous medications.

PMID:42579809 | DOI:10.2196/93017

JMIR Infodemiology. 2026 Aug 11;6:e91422. doi: 10.2196/91422.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Sexuality discourse in Ghana has become more divided, especially around gender and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer rights, leading to new antigay laws criminalizing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer activities, and other forms of sexual practices. One of the most controversial pieces of legislation, previously titled “The Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill,” proposed in 2021, sought to criminalize the use of sex toys, sparking opposition from leading political figures. The then minister of communication, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, a staunch women’s rights advocate, publicly opposed the clause criminalizing sex toys, stating that such initiatives infringed on women’s sexual autonomy. Her stance sparked heated debates on several social media platforms, reflecting the broader tensions surrounding conversations about sexuality in Ghana. To better understand the public’s reactions to the minister’s counterproposal, we analyzed comments from various social media platforms.

OBJECTIVE: Specifically, we (1) investigated public perceptions and sentiments regarding the criminalization of sex toys as expressed on social media, and (2) identified whether sentiments differed across social media platforms (eg, are comments on X [X Corp] more negative compared to Instagram or Facebook [Meta Platforms, Inc]?).

METHODS: Using Python (Python Software Foundation) as a web scraping tool, we extracted public comments from Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube (YouTube, LLC). Comments were analyzed using natural language processing to categorize sentiments (positive, negative, and neutral, indicating support for opposition to the bill, support for introducing the bill, and no clear stance in either direction, respectively), and text network analysis was used to identify keywords and their relationships to central themes. We used conditional probability analyses to determine the likelihood that a given comment was classified as negative, positive, or neutral, depending on its source (Instagram, X, Facebook, or YouTube).

RESULTS: A total of 951 comments were retrieved: 62.7% (n=596) from Instagram, 28.2% (n=268) from X, 6.2% (n=59) from Facebook, and 2.9% (n=28) from YouTube. Negative sentiments dominated (n=631, 66.4%), with only 13.3% (n=126) positive and 20.4% (n=196) neutral sentiments. Strongly disapproving language-some directed towards the minister-was common. This included terms such as “lesbian,” “disgrace,” and “disgusting.” X showed the highest proportion of negative sentiment (190/268, 70.9%), followed by Facebook (41/59, 69.5%), YouTube (18/28, 64.3%), and Instagram (382/596, 64.1%). Conditional probability analysis showed that Facebook and X had the highest likelihood of negative comments (0.7), and sentiment distribution differed significantly across platforms (P<.001). Text network analysis revealed recurring themes of morality, politics, stigma, and gender.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight deep-rooted cultural resistance to non-heteronormative sexual behaviors in Ghana and also suggest that women’s advocacy for sexual autonomy may elicit patriarchal backlash. However, emerging positive voices suggest gradual shifts toward recognizing sexual pleasure as a right, pointing to the need for comprehensive sexuality education that emphasizes positive sexuality and the multifaceted nature of the human sexual experience.

PMID:42579807 | DOI:10.2196/91422

Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2026 Aug 11;70(5):e260090. doi: 10.20945/2359-4292-2026-0090.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of coexisting autoimmune thyroiditis (HT) on the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This prospective study included patients diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma who underwent thyroid surgery. Patients were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of histologically confirmed thyroiditis. Demographic data, tumor characteristics, pathological features, and postoperative outcomes were analyzed. Statistical comparisons were performed to assess differences between the two groups.

RESULTS: Thyroiditis was observed in a significant proportion of patients with PTC. Patients with associated thyroiditis showed smaller tumors and more favorable clinicopathological characteristics compared to those without thyroiditis. However, no significant differences were observed in major oncological outcomes. Recurrence rates were lower in the thyroiditis group. The presence of thyroiditis was associated with more favorable prognostic features.

CONCLUSION: The coexistence of thyroiditis in patients with PTC was associated with more favorable clinicopathological features. However, no significant differences were observed in major oncological outcomes, and the short follow-up period limits the assessment of long-term prognosis. These findings suggest an association with less aggressive initial presentation rather than a definitive prognostic impact.

PMID:42579753 | DOI:10.20945/2359-4292-2026-0090

Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2026 Aug 11;70(5):e260087. doi: 10.20945/2359-4292-2026-0087.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the societal burden of obesity in Brazil by estimating years of life lost (YLL) due to premature mortality.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Given the Brazilian life expectancy of 76.4 years, premature death was defined as occurring before the age of 60. A quantitative epidemiological approach was applied to estimate obesity-attributable YLL in Brazil from 2014 to 2023. Mortality data were obtained from the Mortality Information System, and demographic projections were sourced from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The YLL was calculated by multiplying the number of deaths by the remaining life expectancy (using 2021 Global Burden of Disease reference tables), stratified by age and sex. Statistical analyses were conducted using R software and Python, with results presented as rates per 100,000 population.

RESULTS: The total number of events exhibited an upward trend over the decade, with a pronounced peak after 2020, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. The 50-59 and 60-69-year age groups consistently demonstrated the highest event frequencies. Sex-specific analyses revealed variations across age groups and years. Events were rare among those aged 1-14 but increased from age 15-19 onwards. Among older age groups (40-69 years), females exhibited higher rates than males, particularly in the 60-69-age bracket.

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates an increasing trend in obesity-related premature mortality in Brazil, disproportionately affecting older populations and necessitating targeted public health interventions.

PMID:42579750 | DOI:10.20945/2359-4292-2026-0087

Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2026 Aug 11;70(5):e260086. doi: 10.20945/2359-4292-2026-0086.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Transgender individuals often face structural barriers and adverse health outcomes. Provider-to-provider (P2P) consultations may improve the quality of care for this population. This study describes the characteristics, clinical questions, and care provided to transgender population in the Brazilian public primary health care (PHC) system, using data from a P2P telephone consultation service based in Rio Grande do Sul State.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study included all consultations classified as related to transgender health care conducted between TelessaúdeRS consultants and PHC professionals from 2015 to 2023. We extracted patient characteristics and clinical questions from each consultation. Continuous data are reported as means ± standard deviations or medians (interquartile ranges), and categorical data as absolute and relative frequencies.

RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2023, 752 of the 422,972 total consultations were classified as related to transgender health care. Regarding sex assigned at birth, 47.3% of patients were male, 43.4% were female, and 9.3% were unreported. The mean patient age was 24.5 years (±9.1). The most frequent consultation topics were laboratory monitoring (64.9%), hormone therapy (49.7%), and mental health (28.9%). Nonprescription hormone use was reported by 41.0% of patients. Referrals to specialized care were recommended in 68.4% of cases, and clinical guidance was provided in 71.4%.

CONCLUSION: The growing number of P2P consultations reflects an increasing demand for support regarding transgender care within PHC. Frequently asked questions reveal knowledge gaps among PHC providers, and the high rate of unsupervised hormone use suggests persistent barriers to appropriate care. P2P consultations can support PHC professionals in providing safer, more timely transgender health care.

PMID:42579749 | DOI:10.20945/2359-4292-2026-0086

PLoS One. 2026 Aug 11;21(8):e0354351. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0354351. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

As a fundamental acoustic component, the buzzer is widely used in various electronic systems. The iron core is a critical element in buzzers for supporting the coil, and it is currently fed primarily by mechanical methods. To further improve the automatic feeding efficiency of iron cores, a machine vision-based detection method is proposed to achieve core localization, pose recognition, and notch-angle measurement. The method first employs the Hough transform to locate iron cores on the vibratory tray and exclude overlapping cores. It then statistically counts the edge pixels around each core’s center to select only those facing upward. Finally, by traversing the core’s circumference, it pinpoints the notch localization and computes its angle. This providing the necessary data support for the automatic grasping and placement of iron cores by the manipulator. Experimental results demonstrate that the Hough transform algorithm adopted in this paper achieves a mean relative localization error of only 2.61%, a recognition precision of 100% for front-up iron cores, and an average notch-angle measurement deviation of 1.06°. Compared with YOLOv8, the proposed method offers clear advantages in both detection accuracy and practicality.

PMID:42579715 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0354351

PLoS One. 2026 Aug 11;21(8):e0351623. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0351623. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

Karst aquifers are highly sensitive to climate change due to their complex internal structure, which makes them both reactive and difficult to model. This study proposes a transdisciplinary decision-support analytical framework to support long-term groundwater management in a dynamic karst system in northwestern Tuscany (Italy). The approach combines time- and frequency-domains techniques – multivariate regression models and singular spectrum analysis, respectively – to characterize both short-term system memory and the low-frequency variability of the spring discharge. The methodology was applied to the Cartaro spring (Apuan Alps) using a 18-year dataset of discharge and meteorological variables (precipitation and temperature). Time-domain analysis showed that meteorological variables alone cannot fully explain the long-term variability of spring discharge, and that accounting for the short memory of the karst system (about five days) significantly improved the performance of the classical models. Furthermore, spectral decomposition allowed us to extract the significant annual and semi-annual oscillatory components with modulated amplitude, highlighting the role of low-frequency climatic variability in controlling spring behavior. By combining the results from the time and frequency domains, we fine‑tuned a forecasting procedure that enables statistically reliable annual predictions of long‑term average discharge trends, while limiting noise propagation and without relying on physical governing equations. The research is transdisciplinary, as it was developed from its preliminary phases in collaboration with stakeholders and local managers. The methodological workflow can be applied to other karst aquifers, provided that it is recalibrated using the site-specific hydro-climatic and discharge data.

PMID:42579711 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0351623

PLOS Glob Public Health. 2026 Aug 11;6(8):e0007041. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0007041. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

Following its declaration as a pandemic, COVID-19 spread extensively, affecting millions globally. Concerns emerged that it could have a detrimental impact on sexual and reproductive health services. Specifically, these worries centred on the potential disruption of family planning and HIV-related care. We conducted a mixed methods study to understand the impact of the pandemic and its associated measures on access to FP and HIV services among women in a peri-urban area of Lilongwe, Malawi. We used descriptive statistics to assess what proportion of eligible women accessed FP/HIV services and understand experiences and challenges faced. 400 women responded to a questionnaire, and 30 of them completed in-depth interviews. We used frameworks by Peters (2008) and; Ensor and Cooper (2004) to analyse qualitative data. The mean age of the study participants was 30 years, with less than a third aged 18-25. Of the 269 who tried to access FP services, 254 (94.4%) received it, and 248 (92.2%) received their preferred method. Only 2 (6.1%) out of 33 women living with HIV reported difficulties in obtaining ART. For HIV Testing & Counselling (HTC) services, 97.0% (n = 293) of the 302 women who wanted the service attempted to access them, and 99.0% (n = 290) of the 293 were successful. The most commonly reported challenges were: being sent away if they did not have a mask, being sent away if the maximum number of clients per day had been reached, and higher fares for the few who used minibus. Overall, access to FP and HIV services was sustained. Women, however, faced some challenges while accessing the services, which were more pronounced among FP clients compared to ART clients. Our findings emphasize the need to implement strategies that will minimize challenges to health care access during pandemics, to ensure gains in FP and HIV services are sustained.

PMID:42579709 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pgph.0007041

PLoS One. 2026 Aug 11;21(8):e0355280. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0355280. eCollection 2026.

ABSTRACT

Large-scale adolescent fitness testing produces heterogeneous multi-item measurements. Translating these measurements into interpretable and comparable evidence for provincial surveillance remains challenging. We propose a two-stage Bayesian framework for adolescent physical fitness surveillance in Sichuan, China. In Stage 1, Bayesian confirmatory factor analysis maps cross-grade test items onto four latent fitness factors: strength, speed, endurance, and flexibility. This stage explicitly models item-level measurement error and item heterogeneity. In Stage 2, factor-level outcomes are modeled using Bayesian spatiotemporal hierarchical regression. This stage estimates covariate associations, temporal trends, and residual spatial heterogeneity. In the Sichuan application, the four latent factors showed clear and interpretable spatial structure. Residual spatial clustering persisted after adjustment for covariates, educational-stage effects, and shared temporal trends. Urbanization rate showed positive conditional associations with all four factors. Selected socioeconomic, geographic, and environmental covariates showed domain-specific associations, such as negative associations of GDP per capita and population density mainly with strength and speed. Model comparison using PSIS-LOO indicated that models with spatial random effects provided better conditional pointwise predictive fit than corresponding no-spatial models for all four factors, with satisfactory Pareto-k diagnostics. By separating latent measurement from regional spatiotemporal modeling, the proposed framework supports more interpretable regional comparisons. It also helps identify regions with persistent residual advantages or disadvantages, providing quantitative evidence for targeted monitoring and policy discussion.

PMID:42579708 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0355280

PLoS Comput Biol. 2026 Aug 11;22(8):e1014534. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014534. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

High-throughput experimental platforms now routinely generate data from dozens or hundreds of independent observations. Simulation-based inference (SBI) offers a powerful framework for estimating model parameters from such complex datasets, but standard methods struggle to scale to the noisy multiple-replicates regime without incurring prohibitive computational costs or careful hyperparameter tuning. Here, we introduce a new method for fast and robust collective posterior inference from multiple independent replicates using a robust product-of-experts aggregation scheme that automatically mitigates the influence of outliers. Evaluating it on synthetic and empirical evolutionary datasets, we find it achieves state-of-the-art estimation accuracy and computational efficiency, including inference from noisy observations. Our method is compatible with any SBI framework, providing a scalable, plug-and-play solution for inference from noisy multiple-replicate datasets.

PMID:42579707 | DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1014534