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Journal of Clinical Medicine Oct 2023Insulin resistance (IR) is a rather common condition that is often diagnosed on the basis of an arbitrary "increased insulin value" or the presence of symptoms...
Insulin resistance (IR) is a rather common condition that is often diagnosed on the basis of an arbitrary "increased insulin value" or the presence of symptoms indicative of the Metabolic Syndrome [...].
PubMed: 37835038
DOI: 10.3390/jcm12196394 -
Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory... Mar 2024Many hospitals use pneumatic tube systems (PTS) for transport of diagnostic samples. Continuous monitoring of PTS and evaluation prior to clinical use is recommended....
OBJECTIVES
Many hospitals use pneumatic tube systems (PTS) for transport of diagnostic samples. Continuous monitoring of PTS and evaluation prior to clinical use is recommended. Data loggers with specifically developed algorithms have been suggested as an additional tool in PTS evaluation. We compared two different data loggers.
METHODS
Transport types - courier, conventional (cPTS) and innovative PTS (iPTS) - were monitored using two data loggers (MSR145 logger, CiK Solutions GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany, and a prototype developed at the University Medicine Greifswald). Data loggers differ in algorithm, recording frequencies and limit of acceleration detection. Samples from apparently healthy volunteers were split among the transport types and results for 37 laboratory measurands were compared.
RESULTS
For each logger specific arbitrary units were calculated. Area-under-the-curve (AUC)-values (MSR145) were lowest for courier and highest for iPTS and increased with increasing recording frequencies. Stress (St)-values (prototype logger) were obtained in kmsu (1,000*mechanical stress unit) and were highest for iPTS as well. Statistical differences between laboratory measurement results of transport types were observed for three measurands sensitive for hemolysis.
CONCLUSIONS
The statistical, but not clinical, differences in the results for hemolysis sensitive measurands may be regarded as an early sign of preanalytical impairment. Both data loggers record this important interval of beginning mechanical stress with a high resolution indicating their potential to facilitate early detection of preanalytical impairment. Further studies should identify suitable recording frequencies. Currently, evaluation and monitoring of diagnostic sample transport should not only rely on data loggers but also include diagnostic samples.
Topics: Humans; Hemolysis; Blood Specimen Collection; Stress, Mechanical; Germany
PubMed: 37833063
DOI: 10.1515/cclm-2023-0632 -
Biometrical Journal. Biometrische... Dec 2023The marginality principle guides analysts to avoid omitting lower-order terms from models in which higher-order terms are included as covariates. Lower-order terms are...
The marginality principle guides analysts to avoid omitting lower-order terms from models in which higher-order terms are included as covariates. Lower-order terms are viewed as "marginal" to higher-order terms. We consider how this principle applies to three cases: regression models that may include the ratio of two measured variables; polynomial transformations of a measured variable; and factorial arrangements of defined interventions. For each case, we show that which terms or transformations are considered to be lower-order, and therefore marginal, depends on the scale of measurement, which is frequently arbitrary. Understanding the implications of this point leads to an intuitive understanding of the curse of dimensionality. We conclude that the marginality principle may be useful to analysts in some specific cases but caution against invoking it as a context-free recipe.
Topics: Regression Analysis; Algorithms
PubMed: 37775940
DOI: 10.1002/bimj.202300069 -
Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) Oct 2023The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is the only passageway for macromolecules between nucleus and cytoplasm, and an important reference standard in microscopy: it is massive...
MOTIVATION
The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is the only passageway for macromolecules between nucleus and cytoplasm, and an important reference standard in microscopy: it is massive and stereotypically arranged. The average architecture of NPC proteins has been resolved with pseudoatomic precision, however observed NPC heterogeneities evidence a high degree of divergence from this average. Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) images NPCs at protein-level resolution, whereupon image analysis software studies NPC variability. However, the true picture of this variability is unknown. In quantitative image analysis experiments, it is thus difficult to distinguish intrinsically high SMLM noise from variability of the underlying structure.
RESULTS
We introduce CIR4MICS ('ceramics', Configurable, Irregular Rings FOR MICroscopy Simulations), a pipeline that synthesizes ground truth datasets of structurally variable NPCs based on architectural models of the true NPC. Users can select one or more N- or C-terminally tagged NPC proteins, and simulate a wide range of geometric variations. We also represent the NPC as a spring-model such that arbitrary deforming forces, of user-defined magnitudes, simulate irregularly shaped variations. Further, we provide annotated reference datasets of simulated human NPCs, which facilitate a side-by-side comparison with real data. To demonstrate, we synthetically replicate a geometric analysis of real NPC radii and reveal that a range of simulated variability parameters can lead to observed results. Our simulator is therefore valuable to test the capabilities of image analysis methods, as well as to inform experimentalists about the requirements of hypothesis-driven imaging studies.
AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
Code: https://github.com/uhlmanngroup/cir4mics. Simulated data: BioStudies S-BSST1058.
Topics: Humans; Nuclear Pore; Microscopy; Nuclear Pore Complex Proteins; Single Molecule Imaging; Software
PubMed: 37756700
DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btad587 -
Scientific Reports Sep 2023Shot is one of the fundamental unit in the content structure of a film, which can provide insights into the film-director's ideas. By analyzing the properties and types...
Shot is one of the fundamental unit in the content structure of a film, which can provide insights into the film-director's ideas. By analyzing the properties and types of shots, we can gain a better understanding of a film's visual language. In this paper, we delve deeply into the task of shot type classification, proposing that utilizing multimodal video inputs can effectively improve the accuracy of the task, and that shot type classification is closely related to low-level spatiotemporal semantic features. To this end, we propose a Lightweight Weak Semantic Relevance Framework (LWSRNet) for classifying cinematographic shot types. Our framework comprises two modules: a Linear Modalities Fusion module (LMF Module) capable of fusing an arbitrary number of video modalities, and a Weak Semantic 3D-CNN based Feature Extraction Backbone (WSFE Module) for classifying shot movement and scale, respectively. Moreover, to support practical cinematographic analysis, we collect FullShots, a large film shot dataset containing 27K shots from 19 movies with professionally annotations for movement and scale information. Following experimental results validate the correctness of our proposed hypotheses, while our framework also outperforms previous methods in terms of accuracy with fewer parameters and computations, on both FullShots and MovieShots datasets. Our code is available at ( https://github.com/litchiar/ShotClassification ).
PubMed: 37752203
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43281-w -
Optics Express Sep 2023A group-delay-unit-based integrated silicon photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is employed as a reconfigurable analog radio frequency decoder, which provides a real-time...
A group-delay-unit-based integrated silicon photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is employed as a reconfigurable analog radio frequency decoder, which provides a real-time temporal and spectral analysis of any arbitrary multi-tone signal in the micro- and mm-wave range. The circuit is based on cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometer embedded silicon microring resonators as variable delay units. The temporal decoding of the multi-tone input signal is demonstrated by tuning the signal with respect to the ring resonator delay and resonance. A one-to-one conformal time-to-frequency mapping provides real-time spectral decoding of the signal under test without additional digital signal processing. The idea is validated by several experimental results with single-tone and two-tone input signals in a compact, low-power, silicon PIC. The proposed real-time temporal analog frequency decoder may be very intriguing for high-speed, low-latency wireless applications, such as autonomous driving and 6G.
PubMed: 37710564
DOI: 10.1364/OE.494674 -
Scientific Reports Sep 2023In this paper, a semi-analytical approach is introduced to analyze a spoof plasmonic structure, with an arbitrary geometry. This approach is based on a combination of...
In this paper, a semi-analytical approach is introduced to analyze a spoof plasmonic structure, with an arbitrary geometry. This approach is based on a combination of techniques that employ a full-wave simulator and the Bloch theorem. By applying periodic boundary conditions, the real and imaginary parts of the equation obtained from the equivalent network have been calculated. To show the accuracy and validity of this proposed approach, a complementary Minkowski fractal SSPP unit cell has been designed and analyzed, and this has been used in a surface plasmonic transmission line. The results of our proposed method have been compared to measured results, and the simulated and measured results showed that the SSPP transmission line possesses high performance, from 1.45 to 5 GHz.
PubMed: 37699962
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41050-3 -
Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) Feb 2024Publication bias refers to a systematic deviation from the truth in the results of a meta-analysis due to the higher likelihood for published studies to be included in... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Publication bias refers to a systematic deviation from the truth in the results of a meta-analysis due to the higher likelihood for published studies to be included in meta-analyses than unpublished studies. Publication bias can lead to misleading recommendations for decision and policy making. In this education review, we introduce, explain, and provide solutions to the pervasive misuses and misinterpretations of publication bias that afflict evidence syntheses in sport and exercise medicine, with a focus on the commonly used funnel-plot based methods. Publication bias is more routinely assessed by visually inspecting funnel plot asymmetry, although it has been consistently deemed unreliable, leading to the development of statistical tests to assess publication bias. However, most statistical tests of publication bias (i) cannot rule out alternative explanations for funnel plot asymmetry (e.g., between-study heterogeneity, choice of metric, chance) and (ii) are grossly underpowered, even when using an arbitrary minimum threshold of ten or more studies. We performed a cross-sectional meta-research investigation of how publication bias was assessed in systematic reviews with meta-analyses published in the top two sport and exercise medicine journals throughout 2021. This analysis highlights that publication bias is frequently misused and misinterpreted, even in top tier journals. Because of conceptual and methodological problems when assessing and interpreting publication bias, preventive strategies (e.g., pre-registration, registered reports, disclosing protocol deviations, and reporting all study findings regardless of direction or magnitude) offer the best and most efficient solution to mitigate the misuse and misinterpretation of publication bias. Because true publication bias is very difficult to determine, we recommend that future publications use the term "risk of publication bias".
Topics: Humans; Publication Bias; Cross-Sectional Studies; Systematic Reviews as Topic; Bias
PubMed: 37684502
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-023-01927-9 -
BJGP Open Apr 2024Research has indicated that providing women with information about menopause can improve their attitudes towards it and symptom experience. Nevertheless, information...
BACKGROUND
Research has indicated that providing women with information about menopause can improve their attitudes towards it and symptom experience. Nevertheless, information shared on the menopause is often arbitrary.
AIM
To examine women's information needs about menopause, and understand if, when, and from whom they want information.
DESIGN & SETTING
A cross-sectional study was undertaken. A questionnaire survey was distributed to women in the waiting room of 54 general practice clinics in South-Eastern Norway in autumn 2022.
METHOD
Medical students recruited women in the clinic waiting rooms. A 1-page study-specific questionnaire was used, focusing on need for information about menopause. A multinominal logistic regression model was used to analyse the association between the desire for information and education level, country of birth, and menopausal status.
RESULTS
A total of 625 women were included, with a mean age of 44.4 years (standard deviation [SD] 8.7). In all, 59% answered that they wanted information about menopause, and 81% of these wanted their GP to inform them, from a median age of 45 years. According to the women, only 10% of GPs had initiated a discussion on the menopause. Higher education was a predictor for wanting information. A main driver of information needs was to help oneself in the present and in the future. In all, 33% did not want information. The main reasons were that they already possessed sufficient information, would take menopause as it comes, were too young, or were already postmenopausal. The sex of the GP did not influence the results.
CONCLUSION
Most women wanted information about menopause from their GP. The study emphasises the need for GPs to consider prioritising this discussion, and to keep up to date on recommendations and treatment options.
PubMed: 37669803
DOI: 10.3399/BJGPO.2023.0127