Fair Correlation Research Articles

Fully automated computational measurement of noise in positron emission tomography

ObjectivesTo introduce an automated computational algorithm that estimates the global noise level across the whole imaging volume of PET datasets.Methods[18F]FDG PET images of 38 patients were reconstructed with simulated decreasing acquisition times (15–120 s) resulting in increasing noise levels, and with block sequential regularized expectation maximization with beta values of 450 and 600 (Q.Clear 450 and 600). One reader performed manual volume-of-interest (VOI) based noise measurements in liver and lung parenchyma and two readers graded subjective image quality as sufficient or insufficient. An automated computational noise measurement algorithm was developed and deployed on the whole imaging volume of each reconstruction, delivering a single value representing the global image noise (Global Noise Index, GNI). Manual noise measurement values and subjective image quality gradings were compared with the GNI.ResultsIrrespective of the absolute noise values, there was no significant difference between the GNI and manual liver measurements in terms of the distribution of noise values (p = 0.84 for Q.Clear 450, and p = 0.51 for Q.Clear 600). The GNI showed a fair to moderately strong correlation with manual noise measurements in liver parenchyma (r = 0.6 in Q.Clear 450, r = 0.54 in Q.Clear 600, all p < 0.001), and a fair correlation with manual noise measurements in lung parenchyma (r = 0.52 in Q.Clear 450, r = 0.33 in Q.Clear 600, all p < 0.001). Classification performance of the GNI for subjective image quality was AUC 0.898 for Q.Clear 450 and 0.919 for Q.Clear 600.ConclusionAn algorithm provides an accurate and meaningful estimation of the global noise level encountered in clinical PET imaging datasets.Clinical relevance statementAn automated computational approach that measures the global noise level of PET imaging datasets may facilitate quality standardization and benchmarking of clinical PET imaging within and across institutions.Key Points• Noise is an important quantitative marker that strongly impacts image quality of PET images.• An automated computational noise measurement algorithm provides an accurate and meaningful estimation of the global noise level encountered in clinical PET imaging datasets.• An automated computational approach that measures the global noise level of PET imaging datasets may facilitate quality standardization and benchmarking as well as protocol harmonization.

The validity of ultrasound and shear wave elastography to assess the quality of the rotator cuff

ObjectivesUS with shear wave elastography (SWE) could reduce the burden and costs of the diagnostic process for patients with rotator cuff disorders. The aim of this study is to investigate the validity of US and SWE in preoperative assessment of fatty infiltration (FI) and muscle atrophy of the supraspinatus (SSP) and infraspinatus (ISP) muscles.MethodsPatients with a rotator cuff disorder and a recent shoulder CT or MRI scan were eligible to participate. Goutallier and Warner stages of the SSP and ISP muscle were measured on the scan, for assessment of FI and muscle atrophy, respectively. These findings were compared with shear wave velocities (SWVs) assessed on US. Visual assessment of FI on US was compared with the Goutallier stage. To quantify the amount of muscle atrophy, the occupation ratio between SSP fossa and muscle was measured on MRI and US.ResultsSeventy-eight shoulders were included in the analysis. The correlation found between the occupation ratio on US and Warner and Goutallier stage and ratio on MRI ranged between r = − 0.550 to 0.589. The Goutallier stage of ISP and SSP muscle assessed on US showed a fair correlation with the Goutallier stage on a scan of r = 0.574 and r = 0.582, respectively. There was a poor correlation between the SWVs and scan results (r = − 0.116 to 0.07).ConclusionSWE is not a valid method to measure the amount of FI or muscle atrophy in the SSP muscle. Therefore, SWE is not a suitable alternative for MRI in standard preoperative diagnostics in rotator cuff pathologies.Clinical relevance statementShear wave elastography should not be used in the diagnostics of rotator cuff pathologies.Key Points• There is a fair correlation between the Goutallier stage of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscle assessed on MRI and CT and visual assessment of fatty infiltration achieved on US.• Shear wave elastography is not a valid tool for the determination of the amount of fatty infiltration or muscle atrophy.• Shear wave elastography should not be used as a cheaper and less burdensome alternative for diagnostics in rotator cuff pathologies.

Design of a low-frequency ultrasound diagnostic sensor based on skin mechanical impedance

Skin integrity assessment is a very important matter in the nursing care, especially for patients with low mobility. However, the methodology of skin analysis is limited by a lack of reliable yet portable tools. In this paper, a new sensor is proposed for skin mechanical impedance characterisation, aiming to provide an objective assessment of skin health. The device consists in a microcontroller connected to a Langevin transducer. Using the vector control method, the reference vibration of the transducer is assured, and the mechanical impedance is observed. To ensure the repeatability of the measurements, tests in the morning and in the afternoon were taken. To verify if the device can distinguish sites with different mechanical properties on the same body, tests were made on 2 different body sites: the palm of the hand and the volar forearm. Measurements of skin hydration were also taken, to find a potential correlation of these parameters and skin acoustical mechanical impedance. Results have shown that the measurements provided by the device are mostly reliable, and reveal a fair correlation between mechanical impedance and hydration, in the level of stratum corneum, the outermost layer of skin. Also, the device is able to show the difference on the mechanics of the skin in the different body sites tested, independently of the hydration.

K-Means Clustering to Enhance the Petrified Wood Composition Data Analyses and Its Interpretation

Geologically, the fossilization of wood materials into fossils requires appropriate conditions, some of which have been preserved for millions of years. In nature, the organic mass of wood must be quickly replaced by inorganic elements before it decomposes under harsh geological conditions. Anorganic oxides such as silica-oxide, are known to be the main components of most wood specimens (up to 80%). The presence of alkaline oxides such as sodium and potassium oxide seems to play a major role in the presence of dissolved silica during petrification. However, their significance in the petrification phenomenon that occurs in fossilized plant wood is not yet known. Therefore, in this study, cluster analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between the presence of silica and alkaline compounds in petrified wood fossils. The approach used was -means clustering supported by the Elbow Method, which aims to review and order a complex set of data into subsets, thus allowing interpretation. The results showed that the clustering of the fossil wood composition data was optimal at = 3. There is a fair correlation between the presence of silica and alkali oxide compounds (-0.504 to -0.387), as well as with another inorganic compounds (+0.957). The presence of sodium and potassium is strongly correlated during silicification (+0.905). Additionally, the results of data clustering made the wood fossilization process susceptible to describe, especially through data regression. The data visualization provides more facts and proper explanations of the role of alkaline oxides in wood silicification. This study furthers our understanding of wood fossilization, especially the diagenesis of wood chemical composition in geological history.

Detection of Sarcopenia in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis Using the Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis.

Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a body composition assessment method. We aimed to determine its accuracy in the detection of sarcopenia in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC), using skeletal muscle index (SMI) at the level of third lumbar vertebra (L3-SMI) obtained using multislice computed tomography as the reference method. Patients with LC were enrolled in the period October 2019-March 2022 and follow-ups were conducted until January 2023. Their BIA parameters were compared against L3-SMI, and BIA cut-off values were proposed using AUROC analysis. Patients underwent outcome analysis based on obtained clinical characteristics. A total of 106 patients were included. We found a fair correlation between BIA parameters with the L3-SMI. We determined cut-off values of ≤11.1 kg/m2 for BIA-SMI (Se 73%, Sp 66%, AUROC 0.737, p < 0.001) and ≤5.05° for phase angle (PA) (Se 79%, Sp 60%, AUROC 0.762, p < 0.001) in the detection of sarcopenia. The relative risk of death was 2.2 times higher in patients with skeletal muscle mass (SMM) ≤ 36.5 kg. SMM was significantly associated with outcome in Kaplan-Meier analysis. This non-invasive and simple method that showed fair performances and a very good outcome prediction could provide for the unmet need for fast and affordable detection of sarcopenia in patients with LC and should be further evaluated.

Defining Standard Values for FaceReader Facial Expression Software Output.

FaceReader is a validated software package that uses computer vision technology for facial expression recognition which has become increasingly popular in academic research to expedite, scale, and decrease the cost of facial emotion analysis. In this study, we compare FaceReader analysis to human evaluator interpretation in order to define standard values for the software output. Randomly generated facial images produced by generative adversarial networks were analyzed using FaceReader and by survey participants (n=496). The age, facial emotion, and intensity of emotion as determined by the software and survey participants were recorded. Results were analyzed and compared. 80 randomly generated images (20 children, 20 young adult, 20 middle aged, and 20 elderly; 38 male and 42 female) were included. Analysis of correlation between most common expression identified by FaceReader and the primary emotion detected by surveyors showed strong correlation (κ = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.64-0.91). On analyzing this correlation by age group, there was fair correlation in children (κ = 0.40, 95% CI =0.078-0.72), perfect correlation in young adults (κ = 1.0, 95% CI =1.0-1.0), strong correlation in middle aged adults (κ = 0.79, 95% CI =0.53-1) and near perfect in elderly adults(κ =0.9, 95% CI =0.7-1.0). We provided the first study defining the expected average values generated by FaceReader in generally smiling images. This can be used as a standard in future studies. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

Internal consistency and construct validity of the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment (SMFA) in older adults

Objective The primary objectives of this study were to 1) investigate the internal consistency 2) and construct validity of the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment Questionnaire (SMFA) in older adults commencing physical rehabilitation in an outpatient setting. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited older adults who had commenced physical rehabilitation in an outpatient setting. The SMFA consists of two indices: 1) dysfunction capturing the impact of musculoskeletal disorders on physical limitations, and 2) bothering capturing how the individual is emotionally affected by their disorder. SMFA holds four categories: ‘mobility’, ‘daily activities’, ‘emotional status’, and ‘function of the arm and hand’. Participants answered the SMFA alongside other patient-reported questionnaires (such as the 36-Item Short Form Survey, SF-36) and similar) and objectively measured muscle strength for the upper and lower body and functional capacity. Results We included 115 older adults with a median age of 74 years (IQR 9). Adequate internal consistency was seen with Cronbach’s alpha values of 0.90–0.94 for the SMFA indices and 0.77–0.91 for the SMFA categories. The strongest correlations between the SMFA indices were observed with the SF-36 physical component summary (SMFA-Dysfunction r = 0.74, p < 0.05, SMFA-Bother r = 0.72, p < 0.05). Only fair correlations were found between SMFA index scores and clinical outcome measures. Discussion This study demonstrated that the SMFA has adequate internal consistency and construct validity for self-reported health status in older adults, especially when considering components covering physical health status. However, we only observed fair correlations between SMFA and clinical outcome measures, indicating that SMFA does not adequately capture muscle strength and functional capacity.

Impact of a Digital Strategy Team in an Academic Stroke Journal: 1 Year in Review

Background The social media platform Twitter has increasingly been leveraged to disseminate clinical and academic content, including scientific research. Launched in November 2021 as an exclusively online open access journal, the Stroke: Vascular and Interventional Neurology journal was not indexed on PubMed for its first year of publication. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the journal's Twitter presence by tracking social media posts and article metrics over the first year since the journal's inception. Methods Measures of Twitter influence from the @SVINJournal account were associated with the academic impact of articles published in the associated journal during the first 13 months of the journal's publication record. Descriptive statistics and the Pearson correlation coefficient were used to quantify measures of association, with the primary outcome being unique article requests (downloads). Results There were 174 unique articles published during the study period, with 367 unique tweets. Articles referenced in tweets from @SVINJournal had nearly twice as many requests as articles without tweets (median 967 [interquartile range, 683–1357] versus 497 [interquartile range, 331–711]; P &lt;0.01), with a mild correlation between number of tweets and article requests when @SVINJournal cited the article in tweets ( r =0.20; P =0.009). There was a fair correlation between article request counts and any Twitter mentions ( r =0.41; P &lt;0.001), and a poor correlation between article requests and altmetric score ( r =0.15; P =0.04). There was a small correlation between the number of citations and number of tweets from @SVINJournal ( r =0.21; P =0.006). Conclusions There was a statistically significant, but small, association between tweets and article requests as well as citations. Highly tweeted articles had a higher number of citations. In the absence of PubMed indexing and print distribution, social media platforms can have an impact in promoting peer‐reviewed content and may increase content access and citations.

Assessment of the stallion sperm acrosome in two different extenders: Spermac stain in comparison with PNA/PSA/PI triple-staining.

Since the stallion acrosome is very small compared to other species and cannot be properly assessed without additional staining, several labelling techniques were developed to facilitate its assessment. The aim of this study was to compare the Spermac stain (Minitüb GmbH) and a PNA/PSA/PI triple-staining detected by flow cytometry with regard to method agreement for detecting non-intact acrosomes within two different extenders. For this purpose, eighteen stallion ejaculates were split in half and diluted with the semen extenders EquiPlus or Gent (Minitüb GmbH) to a final concentration of 50 × 106 sperm/mL, respectively. Subsequently, 126 semen samples were stained with both methods between 4 and 240 h (mean: 63.8 ± 48.9 h) after semen collection. Calculated Intraclass correlation coefficients revealed excellent correlations between both methods for EquiPlus (r = .77, p < .001) and fair correlations for Gent (r = .49, p < .001). Interestingly, flow cytometry detected more non-intact acrosomes in EquiPlus than in Gent (p < .001), whereas the Spermac stain showed no differences (p = .902) between extenders. The poorer method agreement in Gent could be caused by egg yolk artefacts, which made interpretation difficult, so flow cytometry might be preferred. The differences in detected non-intact acrosomes between extenders highlighted the importance of establishing adapted laboratory protocols for different extender types in order to generate comparable results.

Correlation of mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and maximal standard uptake value (SUVmax) evaluated by diffusion-weighted MRI and 18F-FDG-PET/CT in children with Hodgkin lymphoma: a feasibility study.

The objective was to analyse if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can act as a non-radiation exposure surrogate for (18)F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in children with histologically confirmed Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) before treatment. This was done by analysing a potential correlation between apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in MRI and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) in FDG-PET/CT. Seventeen patients (six female, eleven male, median age: 16 years, range: 12-20 years) with histologically confirmed HL were retrospectively analysed. The patients underwent both MRI and (18)F-FDG PET/CT before the start of treatment. (18)F-FDG PET/CT data and correlating ADC maps in MRI were collected. For each HL-lesion two readers independently evaluated the SUVmax and correlating meanADC. The seventeen patients had a total of 72 evaluable lesions of HL and there was no significant difference in the number of lesions between male and female patients (median male: 15, range: 12-19 years, median female: 17 range: 12-18 years, p = 0.021). The mean duration between MRI and PET/CT was 5.9 ± 5.3 days. The inter-reader agreement as assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was excellent (ICC = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-0.99). The correlated SUVmax and meanADC of all 17 patients (ROIs n = 72) showed a strong negative correlation of -0.75 (95% CI: -0.84, - -0.63, p = 0.001). Analysis revealed a difference in the correlations of the examination fields. The correlated SUVmax and meanADC showed a strong correlation at neck and thoracal examinations (neck: -0.83, 95% CI: -0.93, - -0.63, p < 0.0001, thoracal: -0.82, 95% CI: -0.91, - -0.64, p < 0.0001) and a fair correlation at abdominal examinations of -0.62 (95% CI: -0.83, - -0.28, p = 0.001). SUVmax and meanADC showed a strong negative correlation in paediatric HL lesions. The assessment seemed robust according to inter-reader agreements. Our results suggest that ADC maps and meanADC have the potential to replace PET/CT in the analysis of disease activity in paediatric Hodgkin lymphoma patients. This may help reduce the number of PET/CT examinations and decrease radiation exposure to children.

Impact of Nanoclays on Chemical Fractions and Mechanical Performance of Asphalt Binders

Asphalt binder often is modified to obtain better performance of the pavement. Some recent studies have considered nanoclay as an alternative to currently practiced styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) modification to reduce the asphalt binder’s overall cost. This study evaluated any notable changes in the chemical composition of the binder due to the nanoclay modification and investigated any correlation between the chemical composition and mechanistic properties of the asphalt binder. It was found that changes in the chemical composition of nanoclay-modified binders are crude source–dependent. After nanoclay modification, the binders that originated from the Arabian crude were found to be more acidic than the binders from the Canadian crude source. However, nanoclays did not have any notable impact on the polarity of the tested asphalt binders regardless of their crude sources. The saturates, aromatics, resins, and asphaltenes (SARA) analysis results of asphalt binders revealed that the n-heptane insoluble contents increased notably after modification with nanoclays, whereas the saturates content decreased due to aging. Some mechanical properties (e.g., viscosity and rutting factor) were found to be correlated with n-heptane insoluble contents. Moreover, the sessile drop analysis test result showed that the nanoclay-modified binders offered superior bonding with gravel than with sandstone. Multiple linear regression analyses suggest that there is a fair (R2=0.55) correlation between the binders’ SARA components and compatibility for gravel.

Translation and concurrent validity, sensitivity and specificity of Chinese version of Short Orientation Memory Concentration Test in people with a first cerebral infarction.

This study aimed to translate the English version of the Short Orientation-Memory-Concentration (SOMC) test into a Chinese version, denoted the C-SOMC test, and to investigate the concurrent validity, sensitivity, and specificity of the C-SOMC test against a longer and widely used screening instrument in people with a first cerebral infarction. An expert group translated the SOMC test into Chinese using a forward-backward procedure. Eighty-six participants (67 men and 19 women, mean age = 59.31 ± 11.57 years) with a first cerebral infarction were enrolled in this study. The validity of the C-SOMC test was determined using the Chinese version of Mini Mental State Examination (C-MMSE) as the comparator. Concurrent validity was determined using Spearman's rank correlation coefficients. Univariate linear regression was used to analyze items' abilities to predict the total score on the C-SOMC test and the C-MMSE score. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to demonstrate the sensitivity and specificity of the C-SOMC test at various cut-off values distinguishing cognitive impairment from normal cognition. The total score for the C-SOMC test and the score for item 1 on this test exhibited moderate-to-good correlations with the C-MMSE score, with respective ρ-values of 0.636 and 0.565 (P < 0.001). The scores for each of items 2, 4, 5, 6, and 7 yielded fair correlations with C-MMSE score, with ρ-value from 0.272 to 0.495 (P < 0.05). The total score on the C-SOMC test and the item score were good predictors (adjusted R2 = 0.049 to 0.615) of the C-MMSE score, and six items were good predictors (adjusted R2 = 0.134 to 0.795) of the total score. The AUC was 0.92 for the C-SOMC test. A cut-off of 17/18 on the C-SOMC test gave optimal performance: correct classification of 75% of participants, with 75% sensitivity and 87.9% specificity. The C-SOMC test demonstrated good concurrent validity, sensitivity and specificity in a sample of people with a first cerebral infarction, demonstrating that it could be used to screen for cognitive impairment in stroke patients.

0322 Measuring sleep-wake state discrepancy in a heterogeneous sample of cancer survivors with insomnia symptoms

Abstract Introduction Sleep-wake state discrepancy is a common phenomenon identified among people with insomnia where greater sleep difficulties are self-reported in comparison with estimates obtained from objective assessment. This study provides the investigation into the sleep-wake state discrepancy and correlation between sleep diary (subjective) and actigraphy-derived (objective) sleep measures. Methods Participants included 136 cancer survivors with insomnia symptoms (M age = 63.8 ± 10.0; 55.9% female; 87.5% White) from baseline data in an ongoing clinical trial. Demographics, Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), 7-consecutive days of sleep diary and actigraphy data were obtained. Sleep measures included time in bed (TIB), total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), wake after sleep onset (WASO), and sleep efficiency (SE%). Mean bias was defined as the discrepancy between sleep diary and actigraphy-derived sleep measures. The agreement between sleep diary and actigraphy-derived sleep measures were graphically assessed using the Bland-Altman plot. Using the mixed linear model approach, the estimated bias and 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were computed. Further, the Pearson correlation coefficient and concordance correlation coefficient (CCC), computed via maximum likelihood methods, were obtained. Results Self-reported TST and SE were shorter than derived by actigraphy (TST: 6.8 min. [95%CI: -18.7, 5.13]; and SE%: 0.7% [95%CI: -3.0, 2.0], respectively). Self-reported TIB, SOL, and WASO were longer than derived by actigraphy (TIB: 8.6 min. [95%CI: 3.7, 13.5]; SOL: 14.8 min. [95%CI: 9.4, 20.2]; and WASO: 20.7 min. [95%CI: 9.4, 20.2], respectively). Moderate to high agreement and correlation were found between the sleep diary and actigraphy-derived TIB (CCC=0.78; r=0.73) and TST (CCC=0.58; r=0.51). In contrast, SOL (CCC=0.48; r=0.35), WASO (CCC=0.36; r=0.18), and SE% (CCC=0.39; r=0.22) showed only fair or poor agreement and correlation. Calculated Bland-Altman LOA between sleep diary and actigraphy derived measures were as follows: TIB (95%LOA: -121.5, 138.7), TST (95%LOA: -197.9, 184.3), SOL (95%LOA: -82.5, 112.1), WASO (95%LOA: -123.5, 164.8), and SE% (95%LOA: -0.37, 0.36). Conclusion Among a heterogeneous sample of cancer survivors with insomnia symptoms, average self-reported sleep duration and efficiency were shorter and self-reported TIB, SOL, and WASO were longer than objectively measured sleep measures. Agreement between two methods varied across different measures. Support (if any) NIH/NINR R01NR018215 (Dean), ClinicalTrials-NCT03810365

Translation and Validation of Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire in Urdu Language for Developmental Coordination Disorder Population

Aim: To translate developmental coordination disorder questionnaire in Urdu language and validate its psychometric properties for cross cultural adaptation. Methods: This validation study was done at the Lahore College of Physical Therapy. The Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire (DCDQ) was translated into Urdu utilizing Bombardier, Beaton, and Guillemin's cross-cultural adaption principles. The forward and backward translations were completed by two separate translators, one of whom is a medical professional professor and the other an Urdu language professor. The final certified version of DCDQ-Urdu was confirmed by bilingual professionals. The validated version's reliability was then evaluated on 28 children with developmental coordination disorder. Results: After population testing, the Cranach's alpha of the DCDQ-Urdu version was 0.873. The inter item correlation of the DCDQ-Urdu for three domains, control during movement, fine motor/handwriting, and general coordination, with total DCDQ score is 0.386, 0.312, and 0.3002, respectively, and after population testing is 0.273, 0.303, and 0.397. The original English and translated DCDQ-Urdu versions had a significant association (Spearman's rho 0.951 p 0.000).Test retest reliability ranged from 0.504 to 0.721. Conclusion: The Urdu version of the Developmental Coordination Disorder Questionnaire has good internal consistency and fair inter-item correlation, making it suitable for use as a screening tool for parents of children with and without impaired motor coordination. Keywords: Developmental Coordination Disorder, DCDQ-Urdu version, Motor skill impairment

Bus Cabin Noise Predictions of Large HVAC System using Total Noise Method

HVAC system design has an accountability towards acoustic comfort of passengers of a vehicle. Owing to larger cabin volume of a bus, multiple air blowers have to be installed to ensure comfort of passengers. Such multiple blowers produce significant flow induced noise inside the cabin. For commercial success, it becomes essential to predict intensity of such a flow induced noise at very early stages in product development. Conventionally sliding mesh based CFD approach is deployed to predict flow and turbulence noise around each blower. However due to complexity, this method becomes computationally intensive resulting in cost and time inefficiency. Hence it is desirable to innovate around an alternative rapid, reliable prediction method, which ensures quick turnaround of prediction. This paper describes a unique innovative approach developed around a multiscale method where flow induced noise generated by a single blower in motion is predicted using commercial Lattice Boltzmann CFD software with a digitally scaled down HVAC system in an anechoic digital wind tunnel. These CFD predictions are used to replace all blowers with virtual stationary speakers inside digital cabin to emulate noise emanated by a large HVAC unit. Authors named this method as total Noise Multiscale Approach, in the paper. With the total multiscale approach, overall sound pressure level predicted inside the bus cabin at rear passenger ear levels are comparable with the physical test measurements and has shown fair correlation. Using this multiscale total noise method, computational cost and turnaround time has significantly reduced compared to the flow conventional resolving approach for cabin with all the blowers. This predictive total noise method found useful in designing and planning countermeasures during product development.

Evaluation of the simulation based training quality assurance tool (SBT-QA10) as a measure of learners’ perceptions during the action phase of simulation

BackgroundIn an earlier interview-based study the authors identified that learners experience one or more of eight explicit perceptual responses during the active phase of simulation-based training (SBT) comprising a sense: of belonging to instructor and group, of being under surveillance, of having autonomy and responsibility for patient management, of realism, of an understanding of the scenario in context, of conscious mental effort, of control of attention, and of engagement with task. These were adapted into a ten-item questionnaire: the Simulation Based Training Quality Assurance Tool (SBT-QA10) to allow monitoring of modifiable factors that may impact upon learners’ experiences. This study assessed the construct validity evidence of the interpretation of the results when using SBT-QAT10.Materials and methodsRecently graduated doctors and nurses participating in a SBT course on the topic of the deteriorating patient completed the SBT-QAT10 immediately following their participation in the scenarios. The primary outcome measure was internal consistency of the questionnaire items and their correlation to learners’ satisfaction scores. A secondary outcome measure compared the impact of allocation to active versus observer role.ResultsA total of 349 questionnaires were returned by 96 course learners. The median of the total score for the ten perception items (TPS) was 39 (out of 50), with no significant difference between the scenarios. We identified fair and positive correlations between nine of the 10 items and the SBT-QA10-TPS, the exception being “mental effort”. Compared to observers, active learners reported significantly more positive perceptions related to belonging to the team and interaction with the instructor, their sense of acting independently, and being focused. The questionnaire items were poorly correlated with the two measures of global satisfaction.ConclusionExcept for the item for mental effort, the QA10-TPS measures learners’ experiences during the active phase of simulation scenarios that are associated with a positive learning experience. The tool may have utility to learners, instructors, and course providers by informing subsequent debriefing and reflection upon practice for learners and faculty. The relationship between these perceptions and commonly used measures of satisfaction remains poorly understood raising questions about the value of the latter.

Assessment of Perioperative Sleep Characteristics Using Subjective and Objective Methods: A Secondary Analysis of Prospective Cohort Study.

Perioperative sleep disturbances may impact healing and negatively affect the patient's perception of well-being. Therefore, accurately assessing postoperative sleep characteristics is necessary to treat sleep disturbances. This study is a secondary data analysis of research investigating the association between sleep and cognition in a perioperative setting. This study compares sleep characteristics between the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire and WatchPAT, a portable sleep apnea testing device. The goal of this study is to compare an objective measurement of sleep quality (WatchPAT) with a traditional questionnaire. One hundred and one patients who underwent elective, noncardiac surgical procedures wore a WatchPAT and completed the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire for three nights: two preoperative and one postoperative night. In the preoperative period, a Bland-Altman analysis showed an agreement Watch PAT and the St Mary's hospital sleep questionnaire except for sleep fragmentation. A good to fair correlation during the preoperative period was observed with both sleep latency and total sleep time. In the postoperative period, no correlation was observed between the St. Mary's Hospital Sleep Questionnaire data and WatchPAT data. Our study indicates that some potential factors affecting sleep and cognition such as admission type, depression, anesthesia type, and sleep apnea may limit patients' ability to report their sleep characteristics after surgery. Therefore, relying solely on one sleep assessment method is not advisable.

Fitbit Data to Assess Functional Capacity in Patients Before Elective Surgery: Pilot Prospective Observational Study.

Preoperative assessment is crucial to prevent the risk of complications of surgical operations and is usually focused on functional capacity. The increasing availability of wearable devices (smartwatches, trackers, rings, etc) can provide less intrusive assessment methods, reduce costs, and improve accuracy. The aim of this study was to present and evaluate the possibility of using commercial smartwatch data, such as those retrieved from the Fitbit Inspire 2 device, to assess functional capacity before elective surgery and correlate such data with the current gold standard measure, the 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) distance. During the hospital visit, patients were evaluated in terms of functional capacity using the 6MWT. Patients were asked to wear the Fitbit Inspire 2 for 7 days (with flexibility of -2 to +2 days) after the hospital visit, before their surgical operation. Resting heart rate and daily steps data were retrieved directly from the smartwatch. Feature engineering techniques allowed the extraction of heart rate over steps (HROS) and a modified version of Non-Exercise Testing Cardiorespiratory Fitness. All measures were correlated with 6MWT. In total, 31 patients were enrolled in the study (n=22, 71% men; n=9, 29% women; mean age 76.06, SD 4.75 years). Data were collected between June 2021 and May 2022. The parameter that correlated best with the 6MWT was the Non-Exercise Testing Cardiorespiratory Fitness index (r=0.68; P<.001). The average resting heart rate over the whole acquisition period for each participant had r=-0.39 (P=.03), even if some patients did not wear the device at night. The correlation of the 6MWT distance with the HROS evaluated at 1% quantile was significant, with Pearson coefficient of -0.39 (P=.04). Fitbit step count had a fair correlation of 0.59 with 6MWT (P<.001). Our study is a promising starting point for the adoption of wearable technology in the evaluation of functional capacity of patients, which was strongly correlated with the gold standard. The study also identified limitations in the availability of metrics, variability of devices, accuracy and quality of data, and accessibility as crucial areas of focus for future studies.

ПРОБЛЕМНЫЕ НАПРАВЛЕНИЯ РЕСУРСНОГО ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИЯ УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ АГРОЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ СИСТЕМ

Resource supply of sustainable development of agro-economical systems should help to increase the competitiveness of agricultural production in the domestic and world food markets and provide the population of the globe with food on the basis of steady increase of agricultural production growth rates. The analysis of the World Bank database for the period from 2012 to 2021 shows that for ten years the added value in the agrarian sector of the Russian Federation economy has increased by 16%, showing positive dynamics of the average annual growth rate with the value of 1.53%. Comparison with the analogous world average growth rate of 2.97% shows that our agro-economic system lags behind the world by almost two times. The OECD countries are developing with an average annual growth rate of 1.88%, which is also ahead of Russia’s indicators. At the same time, Russia’s agro-economic system is developing 0.26% faster than the countries of the European zone. Over the next eight years the Russian Federation expects to achieve an average annual growth rate of agricultural production of 3%, which is 2.7 times higher than the world average. For this purpose Russian agrarians have significant reserves for sustainable development of the agricultural economic system due to expansion of the areas of the main production resource by means of involving 33.04 million hectares of unused agricultural lands (16.7% of the total area) into circulation which, if successfully developed and the average Russian level of land productivity is reached, will give a 15-16% increase in production. The implementation of the program of technical modernization of agriculture can contribute to the achievement of steady annual growth rates of 1.3-1.8% of the branch production. Along with this the important directions of resource provision are the establishment of fair correlation of prices for agricultural products and industrial goods, fulfillment of financial support of agricultural development program and increasing of export potential of domestic agriculture.

The Correlation of Students’ Vocabulary Mastery and Translation Ability at the Fourth Semester of English Education Program of Batanghari University

The purpose of this research is to find out the correlation of students’ vocabulary mastery and their translation ability at the fourth semester of English Education Program of Batanghari University. This research used quantitative method. The population of the data is the fourth semester students of English Education Program of Batanghari University meanwhile the technique of taking sample is cluster random sampling. The total sample of the research is 30 students and the instrument that used in this research is test for variable (X) and variable (Y). In calculating the data, SPSS 17.00 program with spearman rank technique analysis was used. The result showed that there was a significant correlation of students’ vocabulary mastery and their translation ability. Based on the indexes correlation table, the correlation coefficient in the value of 0.411 is in the range of indexes scale 0.400-0.600 which means that the correlation of vocabulary mastery (X) and translation ability (Y) is in Fair correlation, with the correlation coefficient is 0.411. In conclusion, the correlation is positive and can be categorized as fair correlation.