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Fluids and Barriers of the CNS Dec 2023Microdialysis is a technique that can be utilized to sample the interstitial fluid of the central nervous system (CNS), including in primary malignant brain tumors known...
BACKGROUND
Microdialysis is a technique that can be utilized to sample the interstitial fluid of the central nervous system (CNS), including in primary malignant brain tumors known as gliomas. Gliomas are mainly accessible at the time of surgery, but have rarely been analyzed via interstitial fluid collected via microdialysis. To that end, we obtained an investigational device exemption for high molecular weight catheters (HMW, 100 kDa) and a variable flow rate pump to perform microdialysis at flow rates amenable to an intra-operative setting. We herein report on the lessons and insights obtained during our intra-operative HMW microdialysis trial, both in regard to methodological and analytical considerations.
METHODS
Intra-operative HMW microdialysis was performed during 15 clinically indicated glioma resections in fourteen patients, across three radiographically diverse regions in each patient. Microdialysates were analyzed via targeted and untargeted metabolomics via ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.
RESULTS
Use of albumin and lactate-containing perfusates impacted subsets of metabolites evaluated via global metabolomics. Additionally, focal delivery of lactate via a lactate-containing perfusate, induced local metabolic changes, suggesting the potential for intra-operative pharmacodynamic studies via reverse microdialysis of candidate drugs. Multiple peri-operatively administered drugs, including levetiracetam, cefazolin, caffeine, mannitol and acetaminophen, could be detected from one microdialysate aliquot representing 10 min worth of intra-operative sampling. Moreover, clinical, radiographic, and methodological considerations for performing intra-operative microdialysis are discussed.
CONCLUSIONS
Intra-operative HMW microdialysis can feasibly be utilized to sample the live human CNS microenvironment, including both metabolites and drugs, within one surgery. Certain variables, such as perfusate type, must be considered during and after analysis. Trial registration NCT04047264.
Topics: Humans; Microdialysis; Glioma; Extracellular Fluid; Lactic Acid; Catheters; Tumor Microenvironment
PubMed: 38115038
DOI: 10.1186/s12987-023-00497-2 -
Molecular Systems Biology Aug 2023The assessment of variant effect predictor (VEP) performance is fraught with biases introduced by benchmarking against clinical observations. In this study, building on...
The assessment of variant effect predictor (VEP) performance is fraught with biases introduced by benchmarking against clinical observations. In this study, building on our previous work, we use independently generated measurements of protein function from deep mutational scanning (DMS) experiments for 26 human proteins to benchmark 55 different VEPs, while introducing minimal data circularity. Many top-performing VEPs are unsupervised methods including EVE, DeepSequence and ESM-1v, a protein language model that ranked first overall. However, the strong performance of recent supervised VEPs, in particular VARITY, shows that developers are taking data circularity and bias issues seriously. We also assess the performance of DMS and unsupervised VEPs for discriminating between known pathogenic and putatively benign missense variants. Our findings are mixed, demonstrating that some DMS datasets perform exceptionally at variant classification, while others are poor. Notably, we observe a striking correlation between VEP agreement with DMS data and performance in identifying clinically relevant variants, strongly supporting the validity of our rankings and the utility of DMS for independent benchmarking.
Topics: Humans; Benchmarking; Mutation; Mutation, Missense; Proteins
PubMed: 37310135
DOI: 10.15252/msb.202211474 -
Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport May 2024There is limited information on the performance progression of athletics endurance athletes from junior-to-senior status and the determinants of success in adulthood....
OBJECTIVES
There is limited information on the performance progression of athletics endurance athletes from junior-to-senior status and the determinants of success in adulthood. This study aimed to quantify the youth-to-senior transition rate, the likelihood of success and the relationship between youth and senior performance amongst world-class athletes competing in middle- and long-distance disciplines.
DESIGN
Retrospective design examining public data between 2000 and 2019.
METHODS
The performances of 4678 international athletes (45.3 % female) were analysed. World's all-time top 50 athletes were identified for U18 and Senior categories (age ≥ 20 years). Youth-to-senior transition rate and transition probabilities were calculated. Correlations between best U18 and Senior performances were determined to assess the stability of the performance.
RESULTS
The youth-to-senior transition rate for top U18 athletes was low for males and females (~19 % and 21 %). Nevertheless, the probability of transition to a top senior was ~7 times higher for top U18 athletes than for non-top U18 athletes. The correlations between youth and senior best performances were low-to-high.
CONCLUSIONS
Few top U18 athletes maintained top world ranking status during their senior careers. Still, they are more likely to become top senior athletes than those who did not perform at the top level in U18. The association between youth and senior performance is stronger when comparing the same discipline or when athletes competed over longer distances in their senior compared to U18 career. Being a successful youth athlete may represent a small advantage for future success, however, it does not guarantee advancement to the senior top level.
PubMed: 38821815
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2024.05.007 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2023When sight-reading a score, a timpanist needs to decide in real-time which stick to use to play a specific note while interpreting the musical material. Our main point...
When sight-reading a score, a timpanist needs to decide in real-time which stick to use to play a specific note while interpreting the musical material. Our main point of inquiry seeks to understand which sticking patterns performers employ and how they are affected by rhythmic stability. This paper analyzes the bi-manual sequencing (i.e., sticking) patterns of 31 timpanists in a sight-reading task. We analyze their results compared to model sticking patterns common in percussion pedagogical literature. Results show that while hand dominance plays an essential role in an individual's sticking pattern, the stability of a rhythmic pattern may also dramatically influence the observed particular sticking strategies. In areas of rhythmic stability, performers largely adhered to one of two conventional sticking patterns in the literature (dominant hand lead & alternating). Where rhythmic patterns became more unstable, the performers separated into diverse sticking groups. Moreover, several performers demonstrated sticking patterns which were hybrids or an inverse of the model sticking patterns, without any impact on the success of their sight-reading abilities. Overall, no two individual performers demonstrated the same sticking pattern. In terms of percussion pedagogy, our findings suggest that performers may benefit from an awareness of the adaptability of model sticking strategies. Lastly, we make the case for further study of rhythmic stability and bi-manual sequencing by locating the difference between notational and aural complexity.
PubMed: 37780147
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1188773 -
Acta Cirurgica Brasileira 2023To evaluate the gain of microsurgical skills and competencies by urology residents, using low-fidelity experimental models.
PURPOSE
To evaluate the gain of microsurgical skills and competencies by urology residents, using low-fidelity experimental models.
METHODS
The study involved the use of training boards, together with a low-fidelity microsurgery simulator, developed using a 3D printer. The model consists in two silicone tubes, coated with a resin, measuring 10 cm in length and with internal and external diameters of 0.5 and 1.5 mm. The support for the ducts is composed by a small box, developed with polylactic acid. The evaluation of the gain of skills and competencies in microsurgery occurred throughout a training course consisting of five training sessions. The first sessions (S1-S4) took place at weekly intervals and the last session (S5) was performed three months after S4. During sessions, were analyzed: the speed of performing microsurgical sutures in the pre and post-training and the performance of each resident through the Objective Structure Assessment of Technical Skill (OSATS) and Student Satisfaction Self-Confidence tools in Learning (SSSCL).
RESULTS
There was a decrease in the time needed to perform the anastomosis (p=0.0019), as well as a progressive increase in the score in the OSATS over during sessions S1 to S4. At S5, there was a slightly decrease in performance (p<0.0001), however, remaining within the expected plateau for the gain of skills and competences. The SSSCL satisfaction scale showed an overall approval rating of 96.9%, with a Cronback alpha coefficient of 83%.
CONCLUSIONS
The low-fidelity simulation was able to guarantee urology residents a solid gain in skills and competencies in microsurgery.
Topics: Humans; Internship and Residency; Microsurgery; Urology; Clinical Competence; Anastomosis, Surgical; Simulation Training
PubMed: 38055400
DOI: 10.1590/acb386523 -
Frontiers in Physiology 2023It has been established that napping or listening to motivational music during warm-up is an effective strategy to enhance cognitive and physical performances. However,...
It has been established that napping or listening to motivational music during warm-up is an effective strategy to enhance cognitive and physical performances. However, which could provide better enhancement warrants further investigation. This study aimed to examine the effect of a 30-min nap opportunity (N30), a warm-up with self-selected motivational music (WUMM), and the combination of N30 with WUMM (WUMM + N30) on cognitive and physical performances in karate athletes. In a randomized order, 14 national-level male karate athletes performed four experimental sessions: control, N30, WUMM, and WUMM + N30. Simple (SRT) and choice (CRT) reaction times, selective attention, subjective sleepiness (ESS), mood state (POMS), countermovement jump (CMJ), and karate agility test (KAT) were evaluated before and after an all-out exhaustive task [i.e., the Karate Specific Test (KST)]. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured immediately after the KST. Compared to the control, all interventions improved cognitive outcomes, mood, and sleepiness. No effects on physical performances (CMJ and KAT) were found after N30. Compared to N30, WUMM + N30 improved SRT pre- and post-exercise (pre: < 0.05, d = 0.72; post: < 0.001, d = 0.14), CRT (pre: < 0.001, d = 0.07; post: < 0.001, d = 0.10), attention (pre: < 0.05, d = 0.06; post: < 0.01, d = 0.06), mood (pre: < 0.001, d = 2.53; post: < 0.001, d = 0.23), and decreased ESS scores (pre: < 0.01, d = 1.41; post: < 0.05, d = 1.18). However, there was no significant difference between WUMM and N30. KST performance was not affected by the experimental conditions. However, the KST-induced performance deficit in CMJ and KAT was smaller following WUMM + N30 compared to WUMM and N30. RPE scores were lower following WUMM + N30 and WUMM. These findings suggest that a combination of listening to self-selected motivational music during warm-up with a 30-min nap could be an effective strategy to enhance cognitive and physical performance decline caused by fatigue induced by exercise.
PubMed: 37520834
DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1214504 -
Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) Mar 2024Does younger involvement in talent promotion programs (TPPs) facilitate the attainment of higher performance levels? This question is the subject of the present... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
Does younger involvement in talent promotion programs (TPPs) facilitate the attainment of higher performance levels? This question is the subject of the present meta-analysis. Many national sport systems have established TPPs such as federations' junior squads (including under-age selection teams) and youth sport academies, and many are making expanding investments in TPPs. TPPs seek to select the most advanced youth high performers at young ages, around puberty or younger, and then strive to further accelerate their performance development. However, studies show 25-55% annual athlete turnover within TPPs. In this context, accelerated biological maturation (puberty, growth spurt), high relative age within one's birth year, and intensified sport-specific childhood/adolescent practice may boost rapid junior performance, but the effects diminish or are reversed by adulthood. Moreover, expanded opportunity costs and risks (time demands, injury, burnout) imposed on young TPP participants may impair their long-term development and even prematurely terminate their career.
OBJECTIVE
We aimed to provide robust and generalizable evidence on the effects of early talent promotion on junior and senior performance through a systematic review and meta-analysis.
METHODS
A systematic literature search was conducted 18/03-03/04/2023 in SPORTDiscus, ProQuest, PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, WorldCat, and Google Scholar. We searched for original studies that compared athletes across defined higher and lower performance levels within defined types of sports, age categories, and sexes, regarding their age at commencement of TPP involvement and reported effect sizes or data needed to compute effects sizes. Mean meta-analytic Cohen's was computed separately for junior and senior athletes. Quality of evidence was evaluated using the mixed-methods appraisal tool.
RESULTS
The search yielded k = 51 effect sizes from N = 6233 athletes from a wide range of countries and sports, 82% male and 18% female, from 2009 to 2022. The central finding is that effects on short-term junior performance versus long-term senior performance are opposite, whereby higher-performing junior athletes began TPP involvement at younger ages than lower-performing junior athletes, = - 0.53. In contrast, higher-performing senior athletes began TPP involvement at older ages than lower-performing senior athletes, = 0.56. The findings are robust across different TPPs (federation's junior squad/selection team, youth academy), individual and team sports, and performance levels compared (international, national, regional). The quality of primary studies was high.
DISCUSSION
The findings are consistent with recent meta-analytic evidence that participation patterns predicting early junior success versus long-term senior success are opposite (starting age, main-sport and other-sports practice amounts, age to reach performance 'milestones'). We discuss theoretical and practical implications of potential selection and 'treatment' effects of TPPs.
CONCLUSIONS
Consistent across different populations, early TPP involvement is positively correlated with short-term junior performance but is negatively correlated with long-term senior performance.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Male; Female; Adult; Child; Sports; Athletes; Team Sports; Aptitude; Youth Sports
PubMed: 37921913
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-023-01957-3 -
PeerJ 2024The performance of balance is an important factor to perform activities. The complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), especially vestibular dysfunction (VD),...
BACKGROUND
The performance of balance is an important factor to perform activities. The complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), especially vestibular dysfunction (VD), could decrease balance performance and falls-efficacy (FE) which consequently impacts social participation and quality of life (QoL).
PURPOSE
This study aimed to compare balance performance, FE, social participation and QoL between individuals with T2DM with and without VD.
METHODS
The participants comprised 161 T2DM with VD and 161 without VD. Three clinical tests used for confirming VD included the Head Impulse Test (HIT), the Dix Hallpike Test (DHT) and the Supine Roll Test (SRT). The scores of static and dynamic balances, FE, social participation and QoL were compared between groups.
RESULTS
The balance performance, FE, social participation and QoL were lower in the group with VD. The number of patients who had severe social restriction was higher in T2DM with VD than without VD (58.4% 48.4%). Moreover, all domains of QoL (physical, psychological, social relationships and environmental) were lower in T2DM with VD than without VD.
CONCLUSION
The presence of VD in T2DM patients was associated with decreased physical balance performances and increased social and QoL disengagement. Comprehensive management related to balance and FE, as well as the monitoring to support social participation and QoL, should be emphasized in patients with T2DM with VD.
Topics: Humans; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Postural Balance; Male; Female; Quality of Life; Accidental Falls; Middle Aged; Vestibular Diseases; Social Participation; Aged
PubMed: 38766481
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17287 -
International Journal For Equity in... Jul 2023Gender-transformative health interventions that involve men and boys are gaining global reach, adaptability to specific geographical, population and epidemiological...
Gender-transformative health interventions that involve men and boys are gaining global reach, adaptability to specific geographical, population and epidemiological contexts, public endorsement, and conceptual sophistication. However, the ways in which masculinities are conceptualised and operationalised in theory and practice across these interventions remains unclear. The purpose of this scoping review is to map intervention studies that conceptually grapple with masculinities and analyse: a) how the concept of masculinities is adapted and operationalised in gender-transformative interventions, with respect to intervention population and context, b) what the relationship between the concept of masculinities and its wider theoretical embedding is, and c) on which levels transformation can be observed when working with 'masculinities'.We conducted a search in APA Psych Articles, APA PsycINFO, and CINAHL via EBSCO, MedLine, PubMed, and Web of Sciences (December 2021) looking for peer-reviewed studies on gender-transformative health interventions which engaged with masculinities conceptually. There were no restrictions regarding language, publication date, or geography. Forty-two articles were included in this review. Our abductive analysis finds that 'hegemonic masculinities' is a central concept in almost all included studies. This shows how the concept is adaptable to a range of different intervention contexts. The review further identifies five theoretical approaches, that help operationalise masculinities on an analytical level: feminist framework, affect theory, critical pedagogy, theories of social change, and ecological approaches. Lastly, this review draws out six levels on which transformation can be observed in the intervention outcomes: relational level, symbolic level, material level, affective level, cognitive-behavioural level, and community-structural level. The discussion underlines that processes and practices of (gender) transformation also require engagement with theories of transformation more widely and advocates for theoretical pluralism. Lastly, implications for practice, including preventative, ecological and community-based care models, are drawn out.
Topics: Male; Humans; Masculinity; Men; Social Change
PubMed: 37501204
DOI: 10.1186/s12939-023-01955-x -
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Sep 2023To monitor objects of interest, such as wildlife and people, image-capturing devices are used to collect a large number of images with and without objects of interest....
To monitor objects of interest, such as wildlife and people, image-capturing devices are used to collect a large number of images with and without objects of interest. As we are recording valuable information about the behavior and activity of objects, the quality of images containing objects of interest should be better than that of images without objects of interest, even if the former exhibits more severe distortion than the latter. However, according to current methods, quality assessments produce the opposite results. In this study, we propose an end-to-end model, named DETR-IQA (detection transformer image quality assessment), which extends the capability to perform object detection and blind image quality assessment (IQA) simultaneously by adding IQA heads comprising simple multi-layer perceptrons at the top of the DETRs (detection transformers) decoder. Using IQA heads, DETR-IQA carried out blind IQAs based on the weighted fusion of the distortion degree of the region of objects of interest and the other regions of the image; the predicted quality score of images containing objects of interest was generally greater than that of images without objects of interest. Currently, the subjective quality score of all public datasets is in accordance with the distortion of images and does not consider objects of interest. We manually extracted the images in which the five predefined classes of objects were the main contents of the largest authentic distortion dataset, KonIQ-10k, which was used as the experimental dataset. The experimental results show that with slight degradation in object detection performance and simple IQA heads, the values of PLCC and SRCC were 0.785 and 0.727, respectively, and exceeded those of some deep learning-based IQA models that are specially designed for only performing IQA. With the negligible increase in the computation and complexity of object detection and without a decrease in inference speeds, DETR-IQA can perform object detection and IQA via multi-tasking and substantially reduce the workload.
PubMed: 37837037
DOI: 10.3390/s23198205