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 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.

Reliability of the Minimum Masking Level as Outcome Variable in Tinnitus Clinical Research

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-435
Author(s):  
Patricia C. Mancini ◽  
Richard S. Tyler ◽  
Hyung Jin Jun ◽  
Tang-Chuan Wang ◽  
Helena Ji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Reliable Estimate ◽  
Moderate Correlation ◽  
Trained Subjects ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Minimum Intensity

Purpose The minimum masking level (MML) is the minimum intensity of a stimulus required to just totally mask the tinnitus. Treatments aimed at reducing the tinnitus itself should attempt to measure the magnitude of the tinnitus. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of the MML. Method Sample consisted of 59 tinnitus patients who reported stable tinnitus. We obtained MML measures on two visits, separated by about 2–3 weeks. We used two noise types: speech-shaped noise and high-frequency emphasis noise. We also investigated the relationship between the MML and tinnitus loudness estimates and the Tinnitus Handicap Questionnaire (THQ). Results There were differences across the different noise types. The within-session standard deviation averaged across subjects varied between 1.3 and 1.8 dB. Across the two sessions, the Pearson correlation coefficients, range was r = .84. There was a weak relationship between the dB SL MML and loudness, and between the MML and the THQ. A moderate correlation ( r = .44) was found between the THQ and loudness estimates. Conclusions We conclude that the dB SL MML can be a reliable estimate of tinnitus magnitude, with expected standard deviations in trained subjects of about 1.5 dB. It appears that the dB SL MML and loudness estimates are not closely related.

Comparative Responses to Squats Completed with Free Weights and an Exoskeleton

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-63
Author(s):  
Peter Neuhaus ◽  
Chris Jumonville ◽  
Rachel A. Perry ◽  
Roman Edwards ◽  
Jake L. Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Female Athletes ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Actual Data ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Comparative Similarity ◽  
Insufficient Amount ◽  
Force Data ◽  
Familiarization Session

AbstractTo assess the comparative similarity of squat data collected as they wore a robotic exoskeleton, female athletes (n=14) did two exercise bouts spaced 14 days apart. Data from their exoskeleton workout was compared to a session they did with free weights. Each squat workout entailed a four-set, four-repetition paradigm with 60-second rest periods. Sets for each workout involved progressively heavier (22.5, 34, 45.5, 57 kg) loads. The same physiological, perceptual, and exercise performance dependent variables were measured and collected from both workouts. Per dependent variable, Pearson correlation coefficients, t-tests, and Cohen's d effect size compared the degree of similarity between values obtained from the exoskeleton and free weight workouts. Results show peak O2, heart rate, and peak force data produced the least variability. In contrast, far more inter-workout variability was noted for peak velocity, peak power, and electromyography (EMG) values. Overall, an insufficient amount of comparative similarity exists for data collected from both workouts. Due to the limited data similarity, the exoskeleton does not exhibit an acceptable degree of validity. Likely the cause for the limited similarity was due to the brief amount of familiarization subjects had to the exoskeleton prior to actual data collection. A familiarization session that accustomed subjects to squats done with the exoskeleton prior to actual data collection may have considerably improved the validity of data obtained from that device.

Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Impact on Work-Home Interference in a South African Commuter Transport Engineering Company

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Christoff Visagie ◽  
Michael M. Jones ◽  
Herman L. Linde
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Leader Member Exchange ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Dyadic Relationship ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Engineering Company ◽  
Member Exchange

The South African workplace is confronted with many leadership challenges, specifically those relating to the employment relationship between subordinates and their supervisors. A high-quality relationship is essential, considering the work-family spillovers employees experience. Limited research has been conducted on the potential positive and negative consequences of the leader-member exchange (LMX) dyadic relationship. In this study, we used a cross-sectional research design, and drew an employee sample (N = 120) from a commuter transport engineering company. A five-point Likert scale was employed and statistical analyses were carried out using the SAS statistical program. We calculated Pearson correlation coefficients and used structural equation modelling to test the proposed conceptual model to indicate possible correlations between the different variables. The main finding of the study was that the nature of the LMX relationship quality in the relevant company appeared to be high and positively related to work-home enrichment but negatively related to work-home conflict and role overload. The article concludes by making a number of suggestions to respond to challenges.

Enhanced context-aware recommendation using topic modeling and particle swarm optimization

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Ibtissem Gasmi ◽  
Mohamed Walid Azizi ◽  
Hassina Seridi-Bouchelaghem ◽  
Nabiha Azizi ◽  
Samir Brahim Belhaouari
Keyword(s):  
Topic Modeling ◽  
Latent Dirichlet Allocation ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Weighting Function ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Pso Algorithm ◽  
Context Aware ◽  
Proposed Model

Context-Aware Recommender System (CARS) suggests more relevant services by adapting them to the user’s specific context situation. Nevertheless, the use of many contextual factors can increase data sparsity while few context parameters fail to introduce the contextual effects in recommendations. Moreover, several CARSs are based on similarity algorithms, such as cosine and Pearson correlation coefficients. These methods are not very effective in the sparse datasets. This paper presents a context-aware model to integrate contextual factors into prediction process when there are insufficient co-rated items. The proposed algorithm uses Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to learn the latent interests of users from the textual descriptions of items. Then, it integrates both the explicit contextual factors and their degree of importance in the prediction process by introducing a weighting function. Indeed, the PSO algorithm is employed to learn and optimize weights of these features. The results on the Movielens 1 M dataset show that the proposed model can achieve an F-measure of 45.51% with precision as 68.64%. Furthermore, the enhancement in MAE and RMSE can respectively reach 41.63% and 39.69% compared with the state-of-the-art techniques.

scholarly journals The patellofemoral morphology and the normal predicted value of tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove distance in the Chinese population

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhe Li ◽  
Guanzhi Liu ◽  
Run Tian ◽  
Ning Kong ◽  
Yue Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Chinese Population ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Tibial Tuberosity ◽  
Trochlear Groove ◽  
Lasso Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Anterior Posterior

Abstract Background Our objective was to obtain normal patellofemoral measurements to analyse sex and individual differences. In addition, the absolute values and indices of tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distances are still controversial in clinical application. A better method to enable precise prediction is still needed. Methods Seventy-eight knees of 78 participants without knee pathologies were included in this cross-sectional study. A CT scan was conducted for all participants and three-dimensional knee models were constructed using Mimics and SolidWorks software. We measured and analysed 19 parameters including the TT-TG distance and dimensions and shapes of the patella, femur, tibia, and trochlea. LASSO regression was used to predict the normal TT-TG distances. Results The dimensional parameters, TT-TG distance, and femoral aspect ratio of the men were significantly larger than those of women (all p values < 0.05). However, after controlling for the bias from age, height, and weight, there were no significant differences in TT-TG distances and anterior-posterior dimensions between the sexes (all p values > 0.05). The Pearson correlation coefficients between the anterior femoral offset and other indexes were consistently below 0.3, indicating no relationship or a weak relationship. Similar results were observed for the sulcus angle and the Wiberg index. Using LASSO regression, we obtained four parameters to predict the TT-TG distance (R2 = 0.5612, p < 0.01) to achieve the optimal accuracy and convenience. Conclusions Normative data of patellofemoral morphology were provided for the Chinese population. The anterior-posterior dimensions of the women were thicker than those of men for the same medial-lateral dimensions. More attention should be paid to not only sex differences but also individual differences, especially the anterior condyle and trochlea. In addition, this study provided a new method to predict TT-TG distances accurately.

scholarly journals POS1418 REALIZING EARLY RECOGNITION OF ARTHRITIS IN TIMES OF INCREASED TELEMEDICINE: THE VALUE OF PATIENT-REPORTED SWOLLEN JOINTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 992.1-992
Author(s):  
C. Rogier ◽  
B. Van Dijk ◽  
E. Brouwer ◽  
P. De Jong ◽  
A. Van der Helm - van Mil
Keyword(s):  
Early Recognition ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Symptom Duration ◽  
Likelihood Ratios ◽  
Predictive Values ◽  
Patient Level ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Joint Examination

Background:Early diagnosis and management of patients with inflammatory arthritis(IA) are critical to improve long-term patient-outcomes. Assessment of joint swelling at joint examination is the reference of IA-identification; early access clinics are constructed to promote this early recognition of IA. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the face-to-face capacity of such services is severely reduced. The accuracy of patient-reported swelling in comparison to joint examination has been extensively evaluated in established RA (ρ 0.31-0.67), but not in patients suspected for IA.[1]Objectives:To promote evidence based care in the era of telemedicine, we determined the accuracy of patient-reported joint swelling for actual presence of IA in persons suspected of IA by general practitioners(GP).Methods:Data from two Dutch Early Arthritis Recognition Clinics were studied. These are screening clinics (1.5-lines-setting) where GPs send patients in case of doubt on IA. At this clinic patients were asked to mark the presence of swollen joints on a mannequin with 52 joints. For this study the DIP joints and the metatarsal joints were excluded and, therefore, a total of 42 joints were assessed for self-reported joint swelling. Clinically apparent IA of ≥1 joint determined by the physician was the reference to calculate sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+,LR-), and positive and negative predictive values (PPV, NPV) on patient-level. Pearson correlation coefficients(ρ) were determined. Predictive values depend on the prevalence of a disease in a population. Because the prevalence of IA in a 1.5-lines-setting will differ from a primary care setting, post-test probabilities of IA were estimated for two lower prior-test probabilities as example, namely 20% (estimated probability in patients GPs belief IA is likely) and 2% (prior-test probability with less preselection by GPs), using likelihood ratios and nomograms.Results:A total of 1637 consecutive patients were studied. Median symptom duration was 13 weeks. 76% of patients marked ≥1swollen joint at the mannequin. 41% of patients had ≥1swollen joint at examination by rheumatologists. ρ was 0.20(patient-level)-0.26(joint-level).The sensitivity of patients-reported joint swelling was high, 87%, indicating that the majority of patients with IA had marked swelling on the mannequin. However the specificity was 31%, indicating that 69% of persons without IA had also done so. The LR+ was 1.25; the LR- 0.43. The PPV was 46%, the NPV 77%. Thus the PPV increased hardly (from 41% to 46%) and the NPV somewhat (from 59% to 77%). Also in settings with prior-test probabilities of 20% and 2%, estimated PPVs (from respectively 20% and 2% to 24% and 2%) and NPVs (from respectively 80% and 98% to 90% and 99%) hardly increased.Conclusion:Patient-reported joint swelling had little value in distinguishing patients with/without IA for different prior-test probabilities, and is less valuable in comparison to self-reported flare detection in established RA.References:[1]Barton JL, Criswell LA, Kaiser R, et al. Systematic review and metaanalysis of patient self-report versus trained assessor joint counts in rheumatoid arthritis. J Rheumatol 2009;36:2635-2641.Disclosure of Interests:None declared

scholarly journals Examination of the Transcriptional Response to LaMIR166a Overexpression in Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 576
Author(s):  
Yanru Fan ◽  
Wanfeng Li ◽  
Zhexin Li ◽  
Shaofei Dang ◽  
Suying Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Lines ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Transcriptional Response ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Embryonic Cell ◽  
Larix Kaempferi ◽  
Transgenic Cell

The study of somatic embryogenesis can provide insight into early plant development. We previously obtained LaMIR166a-overexpressing embryonic cell lines of Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr. To further elucidate the molecular mechanisms associated with miR166 in this species, the transcriptional profiles of wild-type (WT) and three LaMIR166a-overexpressing transgenic cell lines were subjected to RNA sequencing using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 system. In total, 203,256 unigenes were generated using Trinity de novo assembly, and 2467 differentially expressed genes were obtained by comparing transgenic and WT lines. In addition, we analyzed the cleaved degree of LaMIR166a target genes LaHDZ31–34 in different transgenic cell lines by detecting the expression pattern of LaHdZ31–34, and their cleaved degree in transgenic cell lines was higher than that in WT. The downstream genes of LaHDZ31–34 were identified using Pearson correlation coefficients. Yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase report assays revealed that the transcription factors LaHDZ31–34 could bind to the promoters of LaPAP, LaPP1, LaZFP5, and LaPHO1. This is the first report of gene expression changes caused by LaMIR166a overexpression in Japanese larch. These findings lay a foundation for future studies on the regulatory mechanism of miR166.

Assessing the Use of Biometric Ear Tags as Body Temperature Monitoring Devices in Swine

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 45-46
Author(s):  
Ellie A Amerson ◽  
Harrison Moss ◽  
Suresh Kumar ◽  
Terry D Brandebourg
Keyword(s):  
Body Temperature ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Disease Outbreaks ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Raspberry Pi ◽  
Herd Health ◽  
Swine Industry ◽  
Sickness Behaviors ◽  
Large Production ◽  
Monitoring Devices

Abstract It is difficult to detect the subtle changes associated with sickness behaviors in individual pigs early enough to prevent disease outbreaks in group housing settings within large production facilities. This failure results in significant losses to the swine industry. Strategies that allow early detection of parameters such as febrile responses could therefore significantly improve herd health and producer profitability. Our objective was to determine if the use of a biometric ear tag capable of measuring temperature could be used to accurately monitor body temperature in swine. To accomplish this, 42-d-old pigs (n = 21) were fitted with biometric ear tags for 35 d. These devices continuously measured auricular skin temperature and allowed data collection via a paired raspberry pi aggregator. During this period, repeated epidermal temperatures were also taken daily on the rump, shoulder, and ear using a clinical grade infrared thermometer. Correlation analysis using the PROC CORR procedure of SAS was then conducted to determine the ability of the biometric device to estimate body temperature relative to estimates from the clinical device. Infrared temperature readings for the ear significantly correlated with those taken at the shoulder (P &lt; 0.0001) and rump (P &lt; 0.0001). Importantly, temperature readings measured by the biometric ear tags also significantly correlated with infrared readings at the ear (P &lt; 0.0001), shoulder (P &lt; 0.0001) and rump (P &lt; 0.0001) with Pearson Correlation coefficients of 0.51, 0.21, and 0.23, respectively. Collectively, these data support the hypothesis that the biometric ear tag device tested during this trial can be used to continuously monitor body temperature in young swine. These results indicate that further efforts to develop these devices as novel herd health monitoring devices is indeed warranted with the next step involving the assessment of their ability to detect physiological changes in body temperature.

scholarly journals A Spatial and Temporal Assessment of Vegetation Greening and Precipitation Changes for Monitoring Vegetation Dynamics in Climate Zones over Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
Vincent Nzabarinda ◽  
Anming Bao ◽  
Wenqiang Xu ◽  
Solange Uwamahoro ◽  
Madeleine Udahogora ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Plant Health ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Climatic Zones ◽  
Dramatic Decline ◽  
Precipitation Changes

Vegetation is vital, and its greening depends on access to water. Thus, precipitation has a considerable influence on the health and condition of vegetation and its amount and timing depend on the climatic zone. Therefore, it is extremely important to monitor the state of vegetation according to the movements of precipitation in climatic zones. Although a lot of research has been conducted, most of it has not paid much attention to climatic zones in the study of plant health and precipitation. Thus, this paper aims to study the plant health in five African climatic zones. The linear regression model, the persistence index (PI), and the Pearson correlation coefficients were applied for the third generation Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI3g), with Climate Hazard Group infrared precipitation and Climate Change Initiative Land Cover for 34 years (1982 to 2015). This involves identifying plants in danger of extinction or in dramatic decline and the relationship between vegetation and rainfall by climate zone. The forest type classified as tree cover, broadleaved, deciduous, closed to open (>15%) has been degraded to 74% of its initial total area. The results also revealed that, during the study period, the vegetation of the tropical, polar, and warm temperate zones showed a higher rate of strong improvement. Although arid and boreal zones show a low rate of strong improvement, they are those that experience a low percentage of strong degradation. The continental vegetation is drastically decreasing, especially forests, and in areas with low vegetation, compared to more vegetated areas, there is more emphasis on the conservation of existing plants. The variability in precipitation is excessively hard to tolerate for more types of vegetation.

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