Tag: pubmed

J Phys Chem Lett. 2022 Aug 8:7490-7496. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c01807. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Simulations with adaptive time-dependent bias enable an efficient exploration of the conformational space of a system. However, the dynamic information is altered by the bias. Infrequent metadynamics recovers the transition rate of crossing a barrier, if the collective variables are ideal and there is no bias deposition near the transition state. Unfortunately, these conditions are not always fulfilled. To overcome these limitations, and inspired by single-molecule force spectroscopy, we use Kramers’ theory for calculating the barrier-crossing rate when a time-dependent bias is added to the system. We assess the efficiency of collective variables parameter by measuring how efficiently the bias accelerates the transitions. We present approximate analytical expressions of the survival probability, reproducing the barrier-crossing time statistics and enabling the extraction of the unbiased transition rate even for challenging cases. We explore the limits of our method and provide convergence criteria to assess its validity.

PMID:35939819 | DOI:10.1021/acs.jpclett.2c01807

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2022 Aug 8. doi: 10.5858/arpa.2021-0200-OA. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

CONTEXT.—: Burnout affects 44% of physicians, negatively impacts physicians and the patient care that they provide, and can be assessed by the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Forces contributing to physician burnout have been identified and grouped into 7 dimensions. Burnout within pathology has not been well studied.

OBJECTIVE.—: To identify the prevalence of burnout within Canadian pathology, drivers of burnout important in pathology, and pathologist burnout mitigation strategies at an individual and departmental level.

DESIGN.—: An electronic survey was disseminated by participating departmental chiefs and the Canadian Association of Pathologists. Survey content included the Maslach Burnout Inventory and 3 free-text questions, including: “What do you find most stressful about your work?” and “What is working for you, at an individual or departmental level, to mitigate against burnout?” Comparative statistics were performed by using Pearson χ2. Significant relationships were sought between pathologist burnout and potential drivers, using Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Responses to the qualitative questions were themed and mapped onto the 7 dimensions of burnout.

RESULTS.—: Four hundred twenty-seven pathologists participated in the survey from all 10 Canadian provinces. The prevalence of burnout in Canadian pathology was 58% (246 respondents), and there were significant differences by gender and years in practice. Drivers of pathologist burnout included workload and chronic work-related pain. The most frequently reported effective departmental strategy to mitigate against burnout mapped to “organizational culture,” and the approach that most individual pathologists have taken to mitigate against burnout involves work-life integration.

CONCLUSIONS.—: Burnout within Canadian laboratory medicine is prevalent, and workload is a major driver.

PMID:35939795 | DOI:10.5858/arpa.2021-0200-OA

JCO Precis Oncol. 2022 Jul;6:e2200060. doi: 10.1200/PO.22.00060.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is associated with a poor prognosis. Multianalyte signatures, including liquid biopsy and traditional clinical variables, have shown promise for improving prognostication in other solid tumors but have not yet been rigorously assessed for PDAC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a prospective cohort study of patients with newly diagnosed locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) or metastatic PDAC (mPDAC) who were planned to undergo systemic therapy. We collected peripheral blood before systemic therapy and assessed circulating tumor cells (CTCs), cell-free DNA concentration (cfDNA), and circulating tumor KRAS (ctKRAS)-variant allele fraction (VAF). Association of variables with overall survival (OS) was assessed in univariate and multivariate survival analysis, and comparisons were made between models containing liquid biopsy variables combined with traditional clinical prognostic variables versus models containing traditional clinical prognostic variables alone.

RESULTS: One hundred four patients, 40 with LAPC and 64 with mPDAC, were enrolled. CTCs, cfDNA concentration, and ctKRAS VAF were all significantly higher in patients with mPDAC than patients with LAPC. ctKRAS VAF (cube root; 0.05 unit increments; hazard ratio, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.03 to 1.21; P = .01), and CTCs ≥ 1/mL (hazard ratio, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.34 to 3.69; P = .002) were significantly associated with worse OS in multivariate analysis while cfDNA concentration was not. A model selected by backward selection containing traditional clinical variables plus liquid biopsy variables had better discrimination of OS compared with a model containing traditional clinical variables alone (optimism-corrected Harrell’s C-statistic 0.725 v 0.681).

CONCLUSION: A multianalyte prognostic signature containing CTCs, ctKRAS, and cfDNA concentration outperformed a model containing traditional clinical variables alone suggesting that CTCs, ctKRAS, and cfDNA provide prognostic information complementary to traditional clinical variables in advanced PDAC.

PMID:35939771 | DOI:10.1200/PO.22.00060

Clin J Oncol Nurs. 2022 Jul 25;26(4):406-412. doi: 10.1188/22.CJON.406-412.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Individuals who provide care to older adult women with breast cancer can experience distressing caregiver strain.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether functional status and depression in older adult women with breast cancer relates to strain in their caregivers. Relationships among caregiver characteristics and strain were also evaluated.

METHODS: This multivariate, cross-sectional study used activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, Timed Up and Go Test, Geriatric Depression Scale, and Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI). Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and Spearman rank correlations. Logistic regression was used to predict MCSI scores.

FINDINGS: Patient Timed Up and Go Test and Geriatric Depression Scale scores had the greatest impact on MCSI, with lower function and greater depression associated with increased caregiver strain. Advanced disease was associated with increased caregiver strain. When cancer stage is controlled for, caregiver employment is associated with increased strain.

PMID:35939723 | DOI:10.1188/22.CJON.406-412

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Aug 16;119(33):e2110416119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2110416119. Epub 2022 Aug 8.

ABSTRACT

Prior work has shown that there is substantial interindividual variation in the spatial distribution of functional networks across the cerebral cortex, or functional topography. However, it remains unknown whether there are sex differences in the topography of individualized networks in youth. Here, we leveraged an advanced machine learning method (sparsity-regularized non-negative matrix factorization) to define individualized functional networks in 693 youth (ages 8 to 23 y) who underwent functional MRI as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. Multivariate pattern analysis using support vector machines classified participant sex based on functional topography with 82.9% accuracy (P < 0.0001). Brain regions most effective in classifying participant sex belonged to association networks, including the ventral attention, default mode, and frontoparietal networks. Mass univariate analyses using generalized additive models with penalized splines provided convergent results. Furthermore, transcriptomic data from the Allen Human Brain Atlas revealed that sex differences in multivariate patterns of functional topography were spatially correlated with the expression of genes on the X chromosome. These results highlight the role of sex as a biological variable in shaping functional topography.

PMID:35939696 | DOI:10.1073/pnas.2110416119

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Aug 16;119(33):e2207436119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2207436119. Epub 2022 Aug 8.

ABSTRACT

In scientific research, collaboration is one of the most effective ways to take advantage of new ideas, skills, and resources and for performing interdisciplinary research. Although collaboration networks have been intensively studied, the question of how individual scientists choose collaborators to study a new research topic remains almost unexplored. Here, we investigate the statistics and mechanisms of collaborations of individual scientists along their careers, revealing that, in general, collaborators are involved in significantly fewer topics than expected from a controlled surrogate. In particular, we find that highly productive scientists tend to have a higher fraction of single-topic collaborators, while highly cited-i.e., impactful-scientists have a higher fraction of multitopic collaborators. We also suggest a plausible mechanism for this distinction. Moreover, we investigate the cases where scientists involve existing collaborators in a new topic. We find that, compared to productive scientists, impactful scientists show strong preference of collaboration with high-impact scientists on a new topic. Finally, we validate our findings by investigating active scientists in different years and across different disciplines.

PMID:35939670 | DOI:10.1073/pnas.2207436119

J Geriatr Phys Ther. 2022 Aug 5. doi: 10.1519/JPT.0000000000000360. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Thoracic hyperkyphosis is a common condition that progresses with aging and has been associated with impaired functional performance, increased risk of falls, and even mortality. Previous studies to improve posture primarily used exercise for durations of 3 months or longer. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the feasibility of a manual therapy intervention in community-dwelling older adults over a 4-week time frame that is comparable to the typical clinical setting, to test the appropriateness and procedures for the measurement of posture and function in the older population with hyperkyphosis, and to collect preliminary data to describe change in posture and function measures.

METHODS: Twenty-four participants with hyperkyphosis or forward head posture were recruited, and 22 participants completed this pilot study. Feasibility was measured based on attendance, tolerance, safety, and retention. Issues with measurement procedures were recorded. The intervention included manual therapy and exercise 3 times a week for 4 weeks to target spinal and peripheral joint stiffness, muscle lengthening, and muscle activation. Outcomes included height, kyphotic index (KI), Block Test, Acromion to Table (ATT), Timed Up and Go (TUG), 5 times sit-to-stand (5XSTS), Functional Reach (FR), 2-minute walk test (2MWT), and Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS). Data collected at visits 1, 6, and 12 were analyzed using 1-way repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Measurement and intervention protocols were found to be feasible. A significant effect for the aggregate dependent variables change over time was found. Univariate analysis of each dependent variable showed significance except for FR. All postural measures (height, KI, Block Test, and ATT) significantly improved statistically. The KI and ATT exceed the minimal detectable change for clinical significance. Function showed statistical improvements in the TUG, 5XSTS, 2MWT, and PSFS. Clinical significance was reached with the PSFS. Seven of 9 measures showed a statistically significant change in just 2 weeks.

CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study suggests that manual therapy and exercise applied to older adults shows promise for improvement in measures of posture and functional performance in a clinically feasible 4-week time frame.

PMID:35939663 | DOI:10.1519/JPT.0000000000000360

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 Aug 16;119(33):e2111366119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2111366119. Epub 2022 Aug 8.

ABSTRACT

We present efficient algorithms for computing the N-point correlation functions (NPCFs) of random fields in arbitrary D-dimensional homogeneous and isotropic spaces. Such statistics appear throughout the physical sciences and provide a natural tool to describe stochastic processes. Typically, algorithms for computing the NPCF components have [Formula: see text] complexity (for a dataset containing n particles); their application is thus computationally infeasible unless N is small. By projecting the statistic onto a suitably defined angular basis, we show that the estimators can be written in a separable form, with complexity [Formula: see text] or [Formula: see text] if evaluated using a Fast Fourier Transform on a grid of size [Formula: see text]. Our decomposition is built upon the D-dimensional hyperspherical harmonics; these form a complete basis on the [Formula: see text] sphere and are intrinsically related to angular momentum operators. Concatenation of [Formula: see text] such harmonics gives states of definite combined angular momentum, forming a natural separable basis for the NPCF. As N and D grow, the number of basis components quickly becomes large, providing a practical limitation to this (and all other) approaches: However, the dimensionality is greatly reduced in the presence of symmetries; for example, isotropic correlation functions require only states of zero combined angular momentum. We provide a Julia package implementing our estimators and show how they can be applied to a variety of scenarios within cosmology and fluid dynamics. The efficiency of such estimators will allow higher-order correlators to become a standard tool in the analysis of random fields.

PMID:35939667 | DOI:10.1073/pnas.2111366119

J Air Waste Manag Assoc. 2022 Aug 8. doi: 10.1080/10962247.2022.2110993. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study proposed a decision support system (DSS) for optimizing transportation routing and disposal hub location for Thailand’s local administrative organizations’ hazardous waste management. The first step is to choose the origin and destination, as well as to collect data for each route. Each route’s decision criteria were based on traffic quality and risk measures from the perspective of users. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to compute effective weights for decision criteria. To achieve optimal routing, AHP weights were combined with a zero-one goal programming technique. The DSS operates systematically and successfully, taking into account both transportation risk and socioeconomic factors, and provides appropriate routes. Overall, this waste management system may provide useful information to decision-makers for prioritizing disposal site alternatives and implementing feasible waste management actions. The zero-one location design was then used to determine the best hub location. Based on two scenarios of six and fifteen CoG hubs, the results revealed that the best model for managing a case company’s hazardous waste was to establish 15 hubs scattered throughout the country for collecting points and then transporting them to the waste disposal plant in Phitsanulok province. Locating the hub near sink points would reduce transportation costs and backhaul issues, reducing the environmental impact of GHG emissions and increasing system efficiency. Implication StatementThe problem of waste pollution has become increasingly serious all over the world, particularly in developing countries that face significant pollution control challenges. End-of-life wastes cause economic, health, and environmental problems if they are not properly managed. As the world’s population and living standards rise, so does the amount of waste produced. The environmental impact is significant, with massive amounts of waste generated each year with only basic or minimal treatment to mitigate its impact. As a result, there is an urgent need for a method that can precisely optimize transportation routing and disposal hub location for Thailand’s local administrative organizations’ hazardous waste management (LAOs). The proposed decision support system (DSS) may provide useful information to decision-makers in prioritizing disposal site alternatives and implementing feasible waste management actions.

PMID:35939657 | DOI:10.1080/10962247.2022.2110993

Plast Reconstr Surg. 2022 Aug 8. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000009521. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The 2020-2021 residency application cycle marked the first year of fully virtual integrated plastic surgery interviews. The virtual format was a double-edged sword for applicants with several advantages such as reduced costs and time lost from travel and disadvantages as the novel format introduced new stressors on top of an already demanding process. Concerns included unfair interview invitation (II) distribution, interview “hoarding,” and assessing “fit” virtually. In this study, we aimed to understand applicants’ experiences of the 2020-2021 virtual plastic surgery interview cycle.

METHODS: A survey was sent to 330 applicants in the 2020-2021 integrated plastic surgery application cycle. The survey included questions about participant demographics, pre-interview preparation, virtual interview experiences, and post-interview process. Statistical comparisons were performed on responses using SPSS.

RESULTS: Eighty-nine participants responded to the survey, representing a 27.0% response rate. Applicants received an average of 13.3 IIs (range 0-45) and attended an average of 11.4 interviews (range 0-30). Almost half (48.2%) did not feel IIs were distributed equitably and more than half (68.2%) reported that there should be a limit on the number of IIs an applicant can accept. The majority of respondents (88.1%) reported spending $500 or less on virtual interviews. Half (50.6%) participated in virtual sub-internships, of which 30.4% became significantly less interested in a program afterwards.

CONCLUSIONS: The inaugural virtual interview cycle had several advantages and disadvantages. Lessons learned from this year could be utilized towards building a more equitable, fair, and effective potential virtual cycle in years to come.

PMID:35939639 | DOI:10.1097/PRS.0000000000009521