scholarly journals Translating the Burden of Pollen Allergy Into Numbers: 10-Year Observational Study of Electronically Generated Symptom Data From the Patient’s Hayfever Diary in Austria and Germany

10.2196/16767 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. e16767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Bastl ◽  
Maximilian Bastl ◽  
Karl-Christian Bergmann ◽  
Markus Berger ◽  
Uwe Berger
Keyword(s):  
Symptom Score ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Pollen Allergy ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Patient’S Hayfever Diary ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Symptom Load ◽  
Symptom Load Index

Background Pollen allergies affect a significant proportion of the population globally. At present, Web-based tools such as pollen diaries and mobile apps allow for easy and fast documentation of allergic symptoms via the internet. Objective This study aimed to characterize the users of the Patient’s Hayfever Diary (PHD), a Web-based platform and mobile app, to apply different symptom score calculations for comparison, and to evaluate the contribution of organs and medications to the total score for the first time. Methods The PHD users were filtered with regard to their location in Austria and Germany, significant positive correlation to the respective pollen type (birch/grass), and at least 15 entries in the respective season. Furthermore, 4 different symptom score calculation methods were applied to the datasets from 2009 until 2018, of which 2 were raw symptom scores and 2 were symptom load index (normalized) calculations. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated pairwise for these 4 symptom score calculations. Results Users were mostly male and belonged to the age groups of 21 to 40 years or ≥40 years. User numbers have increased in the last 5 years, especially when mobile apps were made available. The Pearson correlation coefficients showed a significant linear relationship above 0.9 among the 4 symptom score datasets and thus indicated no significant difference between the different methods of symptom score calculation. The nose contributed the most to the symptom score and determined about 40% of the score. Conclusions The exact method of calculation of the symptom score is not critical. All computation methods show the same behavior (increase/decrease during the season). Therefore, the symptom load index is a useful computation method in all fields exploring pollen allergy, and Web-based diaries are a globally applicable tool to monitor the effect of pollen on human health via electronically generated symptom data.

scholarly journals How to put the burden from pollen allergy into numbers: Evaluation of ten years´ electronic generated symptom data from the PHD (Patient´s Hayfever Diary) in Austria and Germany (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Bastl ◽  
Maximilian Bastl ◽  
Karl-Christian Bergmann ◽  
Markus Berger ◽  
Uwe Berger
Keyword(s):  
Symptom Score ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Pollen Allergy ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Computation Method ◽  
Method Of Calculation ◽  
Online Tools ◽  
Symptom Load

BACKGROUND Pollen allergies concern a significant proportion of the population globally. Today, online tools such as pollen diaries and mobile applications allow an easy and fast documentation of allergic symptoms via the internet. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to characterize the users of the Patient´s Hayfever Diary, to apply different symptom score calculations for comparison and to evaluate the contribution of organs and medication to the total score for the first time. METHODS Users of the Patient´s Hayfever Diary were filtered concerning their location (Austria/Germany), significant positive correlation to the respective pollen type (birch/grass) and at least 15 entries in the respective season. Four different symptom score calculation methods were applied to the datasets from 2009 until 2018, among them two raw symptom scores and two symptom load indices (normalized) calculations. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated pairwise for four symptom score calculations. RESULTS Users are mostly male and in the age group of 21 to 40 years or in the group above 40 years. User numbers increased in the last years, especially when mobile applications were made available. The Pearson correlation coefficients show a significant linear relationship above 0.9 between the four symptom score datasets. The nose contributes the most to the symptom score and determines about 40% of the score. CONCLUSIONS The exact method of calculation of the symptom score is not critical. All computation methods show the same behavior (increase/decrease). The symptom load index is therefore a useful computation method in all fields exploring pollen allergy and online diaries are a globally applicable tool to monitor the effect of pollen on human health via electronic generated symptom data. However, studies should always consider the variation between different pollen seasons, years and biogeographical regions.

scholarly journals The Patient’s Denture Assessment (Thai version) is a Valid and Reliable Tool for Evaluating Complete Denture Treatment and Success.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahaprom Namano ◽  
Orapin Komin
Keyword(s):  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Treatment Success ◽  
Intraclass Correlation ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Complete Denture ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Geriatric Dentistry ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Denture Treatment

Abstract BACKGROUND. Complete tooth losses are still being major problems which resulted in lesser quality of life especially for elderly patients. However, there are still lack of questionnaire to evaluate the treatment outcome from the patient’s aspect. The objective of this study is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Patient’s Denture Assessment-Thai version (PDA-T), then use this questionnaire to assess patient satisfaction with complete denture treatment. METHODS. The subjects comprised 120 edentulous adult patients (49 men/71 women; average age 70 years-old) from the Prosthodontic and the Geriatric Dentistry and Special Patients Care Clinic at the Faculty of Dentistry, Chulalongkorn University during 2019 March‒2020 March. The patients were divided into two groups: The group experienced (Exper) (n=54) with wearing complete dentures, and the non-experienced (NonExper) group (n=66). The patients used the validated PDA-T to self-assess their treatment at different times. The Exper group completed the questionnaire at t 0 (during treatment), t 0.5 (2‒8-weeks after t 0 ), and t 1 (final follow-up). The NonExper group completed the questionnaire only at t 1 . RESULTS. In the Exper group, Cronbach’s α and average inter-item correlation was 0.95 (range 0.76‒0.95) and 0.47 (range 0.57‒0.83), respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficients (n = 18, 95% confidence interval) were 0.98 overall. The paired t-test (p < 0.05) between t 0 and t 1 indicated a significant difference between t 0 and t 1 in every PDA-T topic, and the effect size was 1.71. In the NonExper group, the Pearson correlation analysis indicated no significant correlation between the patients' demographics and masticatory function. CONCLUSIONS. The reliability and validity of the PDA-T indicate it is a valuable tool for evaluating complete denture treatment. Treatment success affected the patients' satisfaction, but was not associated with the patients’ prior denture experience, sex, or educational level.

scholarly journals YouTube as a source of information about orthodontic clear aligners

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 419-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gokay Ustdal ◽  
Ayca Ustdal Guney
Keyword(s):  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Search Term ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Video Group ◽  
Rich Content

ABSTRACT Objectives To evaluate the content, reliability, and quality of videos about orthodontic clear aligners on YouTube. Materials and Methods Researchers used the Google Trends website to determine that the most frequently used search term for orthodontic clear aligners on the Internet was: “Invisalign.” A search was then conducted on YouTube using the key word “Invisalign.” From the first 140 results, 100 videos were selected for analysis. A 13-point content score was used to classify poor-content and rich-content videos, and the global quality scale (GQS) was used to examine quality of the videos. To evaluate reliability of the information, a five-question scale was used. The Mann-Whitney U-test, χ2 test, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used for statistical evaluations. Results Of the YouTube videos, 33 were classified as rich content and 67 as poor content. Most videos (73%) were uploaded by laypeople, and most uploaders (71%) were women. The most commonly discussed content was instructions (65%), followed by procedure (57%) and pain (52%). Regarding the GQS, most of the videos were evaluated as moderate quality (51%). Compared with the poor-content video group, the rich-content video group had a significantly higher GQS score (P = .004). There was no significant difference between the poor-content and rich-content groups regarding information reliability (P &gt; .05). Conclusions Video content on YouTube relating to aligner orthodontics was generally insufficient. The quality of videos was moderate, but the reliability of information was generally poor. Specialists should refer patients to reliable sources of information.

scholarly journals Validation of the web-based self-administered 24-h dietary recall myfood24-Germany: comparison with a weighed dietary record and biomarkers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie A. J. Koch ◽  
Johanna Conrad ◽  
Janet E. Cade ◽  
Leonie Weinhold ◽  
Ute Alexy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dietary Assessment ◽  
Method Comparison ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Weighted Kappa ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Dietary Recall ◽  
Potassium Intake ◽  
Dietary Assessment Methods ◽  
Dietary Record ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Purpose We aimed to validate myfood24-Germany, a web-based 24-h dietary recall (24HDR), by comparing its performance with a weighed dietary record (WDR) and biomarkers. Methods 97 adults (77% female) completed a 3-day WDR with a 24-h urine collection on day 3, followed by at least one 24HDR with myfood24-Germany (corresponding to day 3 of the WDR). Intake of energy and 32 nutrients assessed by myfood24-Germany and the WDR for the same day were compared (method comparison). Intakes of protein and potassium assessed by myfood24-Germany/WDR were compared with intake estimated from urinary biomarkers for protein and potassium (biomarker comparison). Results In the method comparison, significant correlations were found for energy and all tested nutrients (range 0.45–0.87). There was no significant difference between both methods in the assessed mean energy and macronutrient intake. However, myfood24-Germany underestimated mean intake of 15 nutrients. In the biomarker comparison, protein intake reported by myfood24-Germany/WDR was on average 10%/8% lower than estimated by biomarker. There was no significant difference in mean potassium intake assessed by myfood24-Germany/WDR and biomarker. However, a shared bias in the assessment of potassium intake was observed for both instruments. Concordance correlation coefficients (pc) and weighted Kappa coefficients (κ) confirmed good agreement with the biomarker estimates for myfood24-Germany/WDR in case of protein (pc = 0.58/0.66, κ = 0.51/0.53) and moderate agreement in case of potassium (pc = 0.44/0.51; κ = 0.30/0.33). Conclusion Our results suggest that myfood24-Germany is of comparable validity to traditional dietary assessment methods.

Craniofacial Morphology of Dutch Patients with Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate and Noncleft Controls at the Age of 15 Years

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 661-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geer M. van den Dungen ◽  
Edwin M. Ongkosuwito ◽  
Irene H. A. Aartman ◽  
Birte Prahl-Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Cleft Lip ◽  
Cleft Lip And Palate ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Craniofacial Morphology ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Class Iii ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Bilateral Cleft Lip

Objective: Comparison of craniofacial morphology in bilateral cleft lip and palate patients to that of a noncleft control group at the age of 15 years. Design: A cross-sectional study of cephalometric data. Subjects and Methods: Cephalometric records of 41 consecutive patients (32 boys and 9 girls) with nonsyndromic complete bilateral cleft lip and palate born between 1973 and 1987. The patients were treated by the cleft teams of the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam and the VU University Amsterdam. The control group of normal Dutch subjects was followed in the Nijmegen Growth Study. From this population, mean cephalometric data were used. Differences in cephalometric measurements and other variables were calculated between the bilateral cleft lip and palate group and the control group. Results: Independent-sample t tests indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean of the cephalometric values of the bilateral cleft lip and palate patients and the control group with respect to all cephalometric variables. Pearson correlation coefficients calculated between angle ANB and the number of operators, number of surgical procedures before 15 years of age, and the year of birth were not significant. Conclusions: Bilateral cleft lip and palate patients treated in the Amsterdam and Rotterdam cleft centers differed significantly from the control group in all measurements. A Class III development due to a less forward positioned maxilla was observed. The vertical measurements indicated a more divergent growth pattern in bilateral cleft lip and palate patients (Ans-Me/N-Me, GoGn-SN, and SN-FFH).

scholarly journals Reproducibility of Semi-Automated Measurement of Carotid Stenosis on CTA

2010 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 498-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy H. White ◽  
Eric S. Bartlett ◽  
Aditya Bharatha ◽  
Richard I. Aviv ◽  
Allan J. Fox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carotid Artery ◽  
Carotid Stenosis ◽  
Carotid Artery Stenosis ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Artery Stenosis ◽  
Analysis Software ◽  
Manual Measurement ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Distal Internal Carotid Artery

Purpose:To compare the reproducibility of semi-automated vessel analysis software to manual measurement of carotid artery stenosis on computed tomography angiography (CTA).Methods:Two observers separately analyzed 81 carotid artery CTAs using semi-automated vessel analysis software according to a blinded protocol. The software measured the narrowest stenosis in millimeters (mm), distal internal carotid artery (ICA) in mm, and calculated percent stenosis based on NASCET criteria. One observer performed this task twice on each carotid, the second analysis delayed two months in order to mitigate recall bias. Two other observers manually measured the narrowest stenosis in mm, distal ICA in mm, and calculated NASCET percent stenosis in a blinded fashion. Correlation coefficients were calculated for each group comparing the narrowest stenosis in mm, distal ICA in mm, and NASCET percent stenosis.Results:The semi-automated vessel analysis software provided excellent intraobserver correlation for narrowest stenosis in mm, distal ICA in mm, and NACSET percent stenosis (Pearson correlation coefficients of 0.985, 0.954, and 0.977 respectively). The semi-automated vessel analysis software provided excellent interobserver correlation (0.925, 0.881, and 0.892 respectively). The interobserver correlation for manual measurement was good (0.595, 0.625, and 0.555 respectively). There was a statistically significant difference in the interobserver correlation between the semi-automated vessel analysis software observers and the manual measurement observers (P < 0.001).Conclusion:Semi-automated vessel analysis software is a highly reproducible method of quantifying carotid artery stenosis on CTA. In this study, semi-automated vessel analysis software determination of carotid stenosis was shown to be more reproducible than manual measurement.

scholarly journals Evaluation of nasal morphology in predicting vertical and sagittal maxillary skeletal discrepancies’

2014 ◽  
Vol 08 (02) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandava Prasad ◽  
Nellore Chaitanya ◽  
Karnati Praveen Kumar Reddy ◽  
Ashok Kumar Talapaneni ◽  
Vijaya Bhaskar Myla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soft Tissue ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Nasal Tip ◽  
Nasolabial Angle ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Skeletal Pattern ◽  
Pre Treatment ◽  
Nasal Length

ABSTRACT Objective: The purpose of this prospective observational study was to evaluate the relationship between nasal morphology and maxillary skeletal pattern. The clinical significance was to emphasize the importance of role of nasal pattern in diagnosis and treatment planning. Materials and Methods: The sample included the pre-treatment lateral cephalometric radiographs of 180 South Indian adults (94 women, 86 men), aged 18 to 28 years. Six maxillary and six nasal soft tissue parameters were measured. Pearson correlation coefficients and Analysis of variance were used for statistical analyses. Results: There were significant correlations between maxillary vertical and sagittal, skeletal and soft tissue parameters. The Mean and standard deviations were correlated between low insignificant range to high significant levels with nasal length, nasal depth and columella convexity. Nasal length also showed significant correlation with inclination of palatal plane. Significant influence of gender was seen on nasal length, nasal depth, columella convexity and nasal tip angle. A statistically significant difference was seen regarding nasal length between males and females, with nasal length being more in males (50.26 ± 4.18) than in females (48.86 ± 3.45), nasal depth being more in males (18.64 ± 2.56) than in females (16.63 ± 2.16), columella convexity being greater in males (4.31 ± 1.26) than in females (3.41 ± 1.13), nasolabial angle decreased in males (87.26° ±13.79°) than in females (89.38° ±15.72°) and nasal tip angle being more in females (80.18° ±9.44°) than in males (73.60° ±10.24°). There was no statistically significant difference in nasal hump between males (-2.01 ± 1.76) and females (-2.02 ± 1.62). Conclusion: Long nose with increased nasal prominence were seen with increase in the anteroposterior length and vertical height of maxilla. Male and female genders had a varied amount of nasal length, nasal depth and columella convexity along with nasal tip angle.

scholarly journals An Investigation of the Attitudes of Health & Safety Personnel toward Safety in Construction Projects

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Ghorbani ◽  
Ahmad Soltanzadeh
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
T Test ◽  
Test Results ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Safety Attitudes ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Study Population

Background and objective: With the development of technology and its increased use, potential dangers in industrial environments has increased. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of the Fajr Institute's Health & Safety Executive (HSE) personnel toward safety. Method: The study population consisted of HSE staff (n: 39). Data gathering tool in this descriptive-analytical study was a researcher-developed, 30-item questionnaire with acceptable validity (1.9) and reliability (0.87). Data were analyzed using the SPSS 19. Samples were selected by census sampling and the entire study population was studied. Statistical methods used were mean, variance, standard deviation, t-test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and factor analysis. Result: The average age of the participants was 28.6 years, 56.5% of them were single and 43.5% married. The average work experience of the participants was 5.2 years. Bachelor's degree (54%) and Master's degree (23%) were the most and least frequent academic degrees, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficients showed age and work experience were not correlated with safety attitudes. The t-test results showed there was a significant difference between the viewpoints of single and married workers and attitude variable (P<0.01).The t-test results also showed there was no significant difference between education level and attitude. Conclusion: According to the factor analysis results, items were classified into four categories: management factors, educational factors, communication factors, and regulatory factors.

scholarly journals Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) Approach On Inappropriate Construction Equipment Delay Factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 1156-1168
Author(s):  
B. Indhu ◽  
K. Yogeswari
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Sem Analysis ◽  
Construction Equipment ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Impact

The advancement of construction equipment is a trend in the construction industry, with numerous benefits. However, using inappropriate construction equipment causes delays in construction projects, affecting the firm's reputation. A number of research studies on overall delay have been conducted globally. Even so, there is a lack of research on construction delays caused by inappropriate construction equipment. The aim of this paper is to investigate the inappropriate construction equipment delay factors and their effects on the firm's reputation. Based on the issues identified in the focus group interviews and the literature survey, a questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the impact of these factors on the progress of Indian construction projects. The primary constraint was that all 300 responses were collected in person from construction professionals to avoid lethargic responses that could skew the results. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the positive strength of each factor's relationship. A t-test was used to see if there was a significant difference between the respondents' firm categories. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to validate the effective relationship between the causes of delays due to inappropriate construction equipment and its impact on company's reputation. All of the factors examined by the SEM analysis evidenced that the inappropriate construction equipment factors are correlated among themselves and combined to impact the reputation of the company. Recommendations are made to overcome the inappropriate equipment delay factors. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091717 Full Text: PDF

scholarly journals Beliefs on Learning and Teaching Language Components: The Case of Iranian EAP and EFL Learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Gholamreza Parsi
Keyword(s):  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
Significant Positive Association ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Teaching Language ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Face ◽  
Basic English

The present study intended to investigate the possible difference between EAP and EFL learners’ beliefs concerning learning and teaching of language components, namely, vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. Furthermore, this study examined the association between EAP and EFL learners’ beliefs and their language components’ development. To this end, 231 undergraduate EAP (117) and EFL (114) learners at Ferdowsi University took part in the study by completing a five-point Likert scale questionnaire adapted from Simon and Taverniers (2011). The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by the experts’ judgment and factor analysis. Moreover using Cronbach alpha coefficient the questionnaire was found acceptably reliable (α=0.88). Furthermore, for language components’ development, the EAP learners’ scores in English course and EFL learners’ average scores in their Basic English courses were taken into account. The results of an Independent Samples t-test revealed that there existed a statistically significant difference between EAP and EFL learners’ beliefs on learning and teaching language components. Furthermore, the results of Pearson correlation coefficients indicated a statistically significant positive association between EFL learners’ beliefs and their language components’ development, however no statistically significant correlation was found between EAP learners’ beliefs and their language components’ development. 

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