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Chinese Medical Journal Jul 2024Understanding willingness to undergo pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and the factors associated with poor uptake of PFTs is crucial for improving early detection and...
BACKGROUND
Understanding willingness to undergo pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and the factors associated with poor uptake of PFTs is crucial for improving early detection and treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to understand willingness to undergo PFTs among high-risk populations and identify any barriers that may contribute to low uptake of PFTs.
METHODS
We collected data from participants in the "Happy Breathing Program" in China. Participants who did not follow physicians' recommendations to undergo PFTs were invited to complete a survey regarding their willingness to undergo PFTs and their reasons for not undergoing PFTs. We estimated the proportion of participants who were willing to undergo PFTs and examined the various reasons for participants to not undergo PFTs. We conducted univariable and multivariable logistic regressions to analyze the impact of individual-level factors on willingness to undergo PFTs.
RESULTS
A total of 8475 participants who had completed the survey on willingness to undergo PFTs were included in this study. Out of these participants, 7660 (90.4%) were willing to undergo PFTs. Among those who were willing to undergo PFTs but actually did not, the main reasons for not doing so were geographical inaccessibility (n = 3304, 43.1%) and a lack of trust in primary healthcare institutions (n = 2809, 36.7%). Among the 815 participants who were unwilling to undergo PFTs, over half (n = 447, 54.8%) believed that they did not have health problems and would only consider PFTs when they felt unwell. In the multivariable regression, individuals who were ≤54 years old, residing in rural townships, with a secondary educational level, with medical reimbursement, still working, with occupational exposure to dust, and aware of the abbreviation "COPD" were more willing to undergo PFTs.
CONCLUSIONS
Willingness to undergo PFTs was high among high-risk populations. Policymakers may consider implementing strategies such as providing financial incentives, promoting education, and establishing community-based programs to enhance the utilization of PFTs.
PubMed: 38955430
DOI: 10.1097/CM9.0000000000003121 -
BMJ Open Jul 2024As part of a wider study, our aim was to elicit perspectives of people with congenital heart disease (CHD) and/or their parents/carers about their experiences of...
OBJECTIVES
As part of a wider study, our aim was to elicit perspectives of people with congenital heart disease (CHD) and/or their parents/carers about their experiences of healthcare and what is important to them when receiving care.
DESIGN AND SETTING
A qualitative study involving a series of closed, asynchronous, online discussion forums underpinned by an interpretivist framework and set up and moderated by three patient charities via their Facebook pages.
PARTICIPANTS
People with CHD and parents/carers of people with CHD from the UK.
RESULTS
Five forums were run for 12-24 weeks across the three charities, and 343 participants signed up to the forums. Four linked themes related to processes of care were identified following thematic analysis of the transcripts: relationships and communication; access and coordination; experience of discrete episodes of care and psychological support. These impacted how care was experienced and, for some patients, outcomes of CHD and its treatment as well as broader health outcomes. In addition, context relating to stages of the patient journey was described, together with patient-related factors such as patients' knowledge and expertise in their own condition.
CONCLUSIONS
People with CHD and their parents/carers want individualised, person-centred care delivered within an appropriately resourced, multidisciplinary service. Although examples of excellent care were provided it is evident that, from the perspective of patients and parents/carers, some National Health Service Standards for people with CHD were not being met.
Topics: Humans; Heart Defects, Congenital; Qualitative Research; Female; Male; United Kingdom; Parents; Adult; Caregivers; Communication; Middle Aged; Patient-Centered Care; Adolescent; Young Adult
PubMed: 38955366
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-079691 -
Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter :... Jul 2024Stabilized and metallic light elements hydrides have provided a potential route to achieve the goal of room-temperature superconductors at moderate or ambient pressures....
Stabilized and metallic light elements hydrides have provided a potential route to achieve the goal of room-temperature superconductors at moderate or ambient pressures. Here, we have performed systematic DFT theoretical calculations to examine the effects of different light elements C and N atoms doped in cubic KBHhydrides on the superconductivity at low pressures. As a result of various atoms substituting, we have found that metallic KBMH(M = C, N) hydrides are dynamically stable at 50 GPa, band structures and density of states indicate that sizeablecorrelates with a high B-H density of states at the Fermi level. With the increasing of B atoms in KBMHhydrides, the density of states values at Fermi level have been improved due to the delocalized electrons in B-H bonds, which result in strong electron-phonon coupling (EPC) interaction and increase thefrom 19.04 to 77.07 K for KCHand KBHat 50 GPa. The NHunit in stable KBNHhydrides has weakened the EPC and led to low Tc value of 21.47 K. Our results suggest the light elements hydrides KBHand KBCHcould estimate highvalues at 50 GPa, and the boron hydrides would be potential candidates to design or modulate hydrides superconductors with highat moderate or ambient pressures.
PubMed: 38955332
DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/ad5e2d -
Journal of the Royal Society, Interface Jul 2024The wildlife and livestock interface is vital for wildlife conservation and habitat management. Infectious diseases maintained by domestic species may impact threatened...
The wildlife and livestock interface is vital for wildlife conservation and habitat management. Infectious diseases maintained by domestic species may impact threatened species such as Asian bovids, as they share natural resources and habitats. To predict the population impact of infectious diseases with different traits, we used stochastic mathematical models to simulate the population dynamics over 100 years for 100 times in a model gaur () population with and without disease. We simulated repeated introductions from a reservoir, such as domestic cattle. We selected six bovine infectious diseases; anthrax, bovine tuberculosis, haemorrhagic septicaemia, lumpy skin disease, foot and mouth disease and brucellosis, all of which have caused outbreaks in wildlife populations. From a starting population of 300, the disease-free population increased by an average of 228% over 100 years. Brucellosis with frequency-dependent transmission showed the highest average population declines (-97%), with population extinction occurring 16% of the time. Foot and mouth disease with frequency-dependent transmission showed the lowest impact, with an average population increase of 200%. Overall, acute infections with very high or low fatality had the lowest impact, whereas chronic infections produced the greatest population decline. These results may help disease management and surveillance strategies support wildlife conservation.
Topics: Animals; Thailand; Models, Biological; Population Dynamics; Cattle; Animals, Wild; Communicable Diseases; Cattle Diseases; Ruminants
PubMed: 38955228
DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2024.0278 -
Computers in Biology and Medicine Jul 2024Missing data is a common challenge in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, which can lead to biased and incomplete analyses. The integration of whole-genome sequencing...
BACKGROUND
Missing data is a common challenge in mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, which can lead to biased and incomplete analyses. The integration of whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data with metabolomics data has emerged as a promising approach to enhance the accuracy of data imputation in metabolomics studies.
METHOD
In this study, we propose a novel method that leverages the information from WGS data and reference metabolites to impute unknown metabolites. Our approach utilizes a multi-scale variational autoencoder to jointly model the burden score, polygenetic risk score (PGS), and linkage disequilibrium (LD) pruned single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for feature extraction and missing metabolomics data imputation. By learning the latent representations of both omics data, our method can effectively impute missing metabolomics values based on genomic information.
RESULTS
We evaluate the performance of our method on empirical metabolomics datasets with missing values and demonstrate its superiority compared to conventional imputation techniques. Using 35 template metabolites derived burden scores, PGS and LD-pruned SNPs, the proposed methods achieved R-scores > 0.01 for 71.55 % of metabolites.
CONCLUSION
The integration of WGS data in metabolomics imputation not only improves data completeness but also enhances downstream analyses, paving the way for more comprehensive and accurate investigations of metabolic pathways and disease associations. Our findings offer valuable insights into the potential benefits of utilizing WGS data for metabolomics data imputation and underscore the importance of leveraging multi-modal data integration in precision medicine research.
PubMed: 38955127
DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108813 -
Computers in Biology and Medicine Jul 2024The RIME optimization algorithm is a newly developed physics-based optimization algorithm used for solving optimization problems. The RIME algorithm proved...
The RIME optimization algorithm is a newly developed physics-based optimization algorithm used for solving optimization problems. The RIME algorithm proved high-performing in various fields and domains, providing a high-performance solution. Nevertheless, like many swarm-based optimization algorithms, RIME suffers from many limitations, including the exploration-exploitation balance not being well balanced. In addition, the likelihood of falling into local optimal solutions is high, and the convergence speed still needs some work. Hence, there is room for enhancement in the search mechanism so that various search agents can discover new solutions. The authors suggest an adaptive chaotic version of the RIME algorithm named ACRIME, which incorporates four main improvements, including an intelligent population initialization using chaotic maps, a novel adaptive modified Symbiotic Organism Search (SOS) mutualism phase, a novel mixed mutation strategy, and the utilization of restart strategy. The main goal of these improvements is to improve the variety of the population, achieve a better balance between exploration and exploitation, and improve RIME's local and global search abilities. The study assesses the effectiveness of ACRIME by using the standard benchmark functions of the CEC2005 and CEC2019 benchmarks. The proposed ACRIME is also applied as a feature selection to fourteen various datasets to test its applicability to real-world problems. Besides, the ACRIME algorithm is applied to the COVID-19 classification real problem to test its applicability and performance further. The suggested algorithm is compared to other sophisticated classical and advanced metaheuristics, and its performance is assessed using statistical tests such as Wilcoxon rank-sum and Friedman rank tests. The study demonstrates that ACRIME exhibits a high level of competitiveness and often outperforms competing algorithms. It discovers the optimal subset of features, enhancing the accuracy of classification and minimizing the number of features employed. This study primarily focuses on enhancing the equilibrium between exploration and exploitation, extending the scope of local search.
PubMed: 38955125
DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108803 -
Archives of Medical Research Jul 2024Health problems associated with aging are a major public health concern for the future. Aging is a complex process with wide intervariability among individuals.... (Review)
Review
Health problems associated with aging are a major public health concern for the future. Aging is a complex process with wide intervariability among individuals. Therefore, there is a need for innovative public health strategies that target factors associated with aging and the development of tools to assess the effectiveness of these strategies accurately. Novel approaches to measure biological age, such as epigenetic clocks, have become relevant. These clocks use non-sequential variable information from the genome and employ mathematical algorithms to estimate biological age based on DNA methylation levels. Therefore, in the present study, we comprehensively review the current status of the epigenetic clocks and their associations across the human phenome. We emphasize the potential utility of these tools in an epidemiological context, particularly in evaluating the impact of public health interventions focused on promoting healthy aging. Our review describes associations between epigenetic clocks and multiple traits across the life and health span. Additionally, we highlighted the evolution of studies beyond mere associations to establish causal mechanisms between epigenetic age and disease. We explored the application of epigenetic clocks to measure the efficacy of interventions focusing on rejuvenation.
PubMed: 38955096
DOI: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2024.103033 -
Public Health Jul 2024In the American regions, Brazil accounts for 97% of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases, with a case fatality rate of approximately 10%. This study aimed to investigate...
OBJECTIVES
In the American regions, Brazil accounts for 97% of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) cases, with a case fatality rate of approximately 10%. This study aimed to investigate the VL mortality distribution in Brazil and identify high-priority and high-risk areas for intervention strategies.
STUDY DESIGN
This was an ecological study that analysed the spatial-temporal patterns of VL mortality in Brazilian municipalities.
METHODS
Age-standardised VL mortality rates from the Global Burden of Disease study from 2001 to 2018 were used. The distribution of mortality in the municipalities was assessed, and subsequently the Local Index of Spatial Autocorrelation (LISA) analysis was conducted to identify contiguous areas with high mortality rates. Scan analysis identified clusters of high spatial-temporal risks.
RESULTS
The highest mortality rates and clusters were in municipalities located in the Northeast region and in the states of Tocantins and Roraima (North region), Mato Grosso do Sul (Central-West region), and Minas Gerais (Southeast region). According to LISA, there was an increase in the number of municipalities classified as high priority from the first 3-year period (n = 434) to the last 3-year period (n = 644). The spatio-temporal analysis identified 21 high-risk clusters for VL mortality.
CONCLUSION
Areas with a high risk of VL mortality should prioritise preventing transmission, invest in early diagnosis and treatment, and promote the training of healthcare professionals.
PubMed: 38954883
DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2024.06.003 -
Enhancing efficiency of protein language models with minimal wet-lab data through few-shot learning.Nature Communications Jul 2024Accurately modeling the protein fitness landscapes holds great importance for protein engineering. Pre-trained protein language models have achieved state-of-the-art...
Accurately modeling the protein fitness landscapes holds great importance for protein engineering. Pre-trained protein language models have achieved state-of-the-art performance in predicting protein fitness without wet-lab experimental data, but their accuracy and interpretability remain limited. On the other hand, traditional supervised deep learning models require abundant labeled training examples for performance improvements, posing a practical barrier. In this work, we introduce FSFP, a training strategy that can effectively optimize protein language models under extreme data scarcity for fitness prediction. By combining meta-transfer learning, learning to rank, and parameter-efficient fine-tuning, FSFP can significantly boost the performance of various protein language models using merely tens of labeled single-site mutants from the target protein. In silico benchmarks across 87 deep mutational scanning datasets demonstrate FSFP's superiority over both unsupervised and supervised baselines. Furthermore, we successfully apply FSFP to engineer the Phi29 DNA polymerase through wet-lab experiments, achieving a 25% increase in the positive rate. These results underscore the potential of our approach in aiding AI-guided protein engineering.
PubMed: 38956442
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49798-6 -
Scientific Reports Jul 2024This paper aims to study the natural convective magneto-hydrodynamic flow of fluid through vertical concentric annuli with iso-flux heating under the conditions of...
This paper aims to study the natural convective magneto-hydrodynamic flow of fluid through vertical concentric annuli with iso-flux heating under the conditions of constant internal heat absorption and an induced magnetic field. By solving the set of dimensionless coupled governing equations, we were able to obtain exact expressions for the temperature field, velocity field, and induced magnetic field. We also managed to derive the formulas for skin friction, mass flux, and induced current density. We also examined the effects of non-dimensional parameters on skin friction and mass flux. For easy comprehension and interpretation, the results are provided graphically and in tabular form. The heat absorption parameter, the induced current density, the induced magnetic field, and velocity exhibit a negative trend as the Hartmann number (Ha) value increases. The induced magnetic field has the effect of raising both the induced current density and velocity profile. It is found that, when a fluid absorbs heat, the heat absorption parameter experiences reverse flow. For the heat-absorbing fluids, the radii ratio has the effect of increasing velocity, induced magnetic field, and induced current density. The numerical values of skin friction and mass flux at cylindrical walls increase (decrease) with increasing heat absorption parameter and generally it has decreasing tendency with increasing Hartmann number.
PubMed: 38956434
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64779-x