Kendall Rank Correlation Test Research Articles

The effect of Z-Score on Year Grade Point Average (YGPA) and Final Grade Point Average (FGPA) in Faculty of Engineering, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU)

A collection of 182 Intake 35 day scholar undergraduates who had followed the Local GCE Advanced Level examination from the Faculty of Engineering, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), was selected. Data was collected from the several departments and units of KDU. The Grade Point Average (GPA) was considered the scale of a student’s academic performance in the study. A descriptive analysis was performed to differentiate the configuration of the data and the relationship between the Year Grade Point Average (YGPA), and Final Grade Point Average (FGPA) variables with the Z-Score. Spearman and Kendall rank correlation tests were performed in the analysis. The results indicated that the Z-score has a comparatively strong positive relationship with student’s performance at the university in their first year and the class selection.

The effect of Z-Score on Year Grade Point Average (YGPA) and Final Grade Point Average (FGPA) in Faculty of Engineering, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU)

A collection of 182 Intake 35 day scholar undergraduates who had followed the Local GCE Advanced Level examination from the Faculty of Engineering, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), was selected. Data was collected from the several departments and units of KDU. The Grade Point Average (GPA) was considered the scale of a student’s academic performance in the study. A descriptive analysis was performed to differentiate the configuration of the data and the relationship between the Year Grade Point Average (YGPA), and Final Grade Point Average (FGPA) variables with the Z-Score. Spearman and Kendall rank correlation tests were performed in the analysis. The results indicated that the Z-score has a comparatively strong positive relationship with student’s performance at the university in their first year and the class selection.

Abstract PO4-03-06: Body mass index and response to neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy among women with primary triple negative breast cancer

Abstract Background: Elevated body mass index (BMI) is associated with lower rates of pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with breast cancer. The addition of PD-1 receptor inhibition with pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is now considered the standard of care for patients with stage II or III triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) based on results from the KEYNOTE-522 (KN-522) trial. In other cancer types such as melanoma and lung cancer, patients with overweight/obesity have better survival outcomes following treatment with immunotherapy compared to patients with normal weight, despite a higher incidence of any-grade immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Whether BMI is associated with differential response and toxicity in patients with TNBC treated with neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy is unknown. Methods: Patients with stage II-III TNBC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus pembrolizumab per the KN-522 regimen from 8/2021 – 9/2022 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center were included in this retrospective study. Patient characteristics, tumor characteristics, treatments, surgical pathology information, and irAEs were abstracted from medical records. pCR was defined as absence of invasive or in situ carcinoma in breast and axillary node tissue surgical specimens. BMI was categorized per standard definitions: underweight/normal weight < 25 kg/m2, overweight 25-29.9 kg/m2, and obese >=30 kg/m2. Wilcoxon rank sum tests, Pearson’s chi-squared tests, and Kendall rank correlation tests were used to test associations between variables. Results: 143 patients were included in this study. 57 patients (39.8%) were underweight/normal weight, 46 (32.2%) were overweight, and 40 (28.0%) were obese. Overall, 79/143 patients (55.2%) experienced a pCR. Among patients with a pCR, median BMI was 26.3 kg/m2 (interquartile range [IQR] 23.1-30.5 kg/m2); among patients without a pCR, median BMI was 26.1 kg/m2 (IQR 23.6-30.0 kg/m2; p >0.9). There was no significant association between BMI category and pCR (p=0.9). Overall, 63/143 (44%) of patients experienced an irAE; 42 (29.4%) required treatment for an irAE. There were no associations between BMI and the incidence (p=0.5) or frequency (p=0.7) of irAEs. Conclusions: In this TNBC cohort treated with neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy, BMI was not associated with rates of pCR or irAEs. These findings highlight the divergent impact of BMI on immunotherapy response across cancer types. Confirmatory studies in independent cohorts are needed. Citation Format: Sherry Shen, Sara Myers, Yuan Chen, Stephanie Downs-Canner, Nour Abuhadra, Tiffany Traina, Mark Robson, Neil Iyengar. Body mass index and response to neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy among women with primary triple negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO4-03-06.

Study on the Evolvement Trend Process of Hydrological Elements in Luanhe River Basin, China

Over the past 50 years, there have been significant changes in the runoff process in the Luanhe River basin, exacerbating the scarcity of water resources and their spatiotemporal variability. Therefore, conducting research on the characteristics, trends, and cycles of runoff changes in the Luanhe River basin is of great theoretical and practical significance. This study selected rainfall data from the hydrological stations in Weichang, Chengde, and Qinhuangdao in the Luanhe River basin, covering the period from 1985 to 2008, as well as runoff data from the Hanjiaying, Sandaohezi, and Chengde stations. Based on linear trend regression analysis, the Mann–Kendall rank correlation test, Spearman correlation test, Mann–Kendall method, and Mann–Whitney–Pettitt change point analysis method, this study analyzed the trends in water quantity changes and their change points in the Luanhe River basin. The results of the precipitation at the Weichang and Chengde stations show a non-significant rising trend, remaining relatively stable with slightly increases. Conversely, the precipitation of Qinhuangdao Station shows a decreasing trend over time, albeit non-significant. Considering the detailed diagnostic results from both the Mann–Kendall (M-K) and MWP methods, the change point for Weichang precipitation is identified as 2007, while for Chengde, it spans from 1999 to 2002, and for Qinhuangdao, it is around 1997. The trend of the runoff series of three stations shows a significant decreasing trend and strong significance, and the change point for the annual runoff at the Hanjiaying station and the Sandaohezi station is identified as 2006, and for the Chengde station, the primary change point is 2006, with a secondary change point around 2002. The findings of this research can provide scientific references for the rational development and utilization of regional water resources.

A systematic review on the biochemical threshold of mitochondrial genetic variants.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variants cause a range of diseases from severe pediatric syndromes to aging-related conditions. The percentage of mtDNA copies carrying a pathogenic variant, variant allele frequency (VAF), must reach a threshold before a biochemical defect occurs, termed the biochemical threshold. Whether the often-cited biochemical threshold of >60% VAF is similar across mtDNA variants and cell types is unclear. In our systematic review, we sought to identify the biochemical threshold of mtDNA variants in relation to VAF by human tissue/cell type. We used controlled vocabulary terms to identify articles measuring oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complex activities in relation to VAF. We identified 76 eligible publications, describing 69, 12, 16, and 49 cases for complexes I, III, IV, and V, respectively. Few studies evaluated OXPHOS activities in diverse tissue types, likely reflective of clinical access. A number of cases with similar VAFs for the same pathogenic variant had varying degrees of residual activity of the affected complex, alluding to the presence of modifying variants. Tissues and cells with VAFs <60% associated with low complex activities were described, suggesting the possibility of a biochemical threshold of <60%. Using Kendall rank correlation tests, the VAF of the m.8993T > G variant correlated with complex V activity in skeletal muscle (τ = -0.58, P = 0.01, n = 13); however, no correlation was observed in fibroblasts (P = 0.7, n = 9). Our systematic review highlights the need to investigate the biochemical threshold over a wider range of VAFs in disease-relevant cell types to better define the biochemical threshold for specific mtDNA variants.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on temporal trends of biological indicators of autoimmunity

Background and objectiveCoronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been associated with the onset of autoimmune conditions, but whether this relationship is causal remains unknown, partly because robust evidence based on the detection of autoantibodies is lacking. This study explored the potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the temporal trends of autoimmunity. MethodsRetrospective analysis of all consecutive autoimmune tests performed at one central laboratory at a University hospital, operating services for 18 other hospitals and clinical laboratories in Belgium, from January 01, 2015 to May 31, 2022. Longitudinal changes in the positivity rates of autoimmunity tests were analyzed, i.e. before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 11, 2020). The tests notably included the detection of autoantibodies associated with type 1 diabetes, thyroid diseases, connective tissue diseases, antiphospholipid syndrome, vasculitis and other organ-specific conditions. Kendall rank correlation test was applied to assess temporal trends. ResultsOver a period of 89 months, a total of 301,720 consecutive tests for 24 different autoantibodies among 87,674 unique patients were performed (87% adults, 68% women, mean age 44 ± 20 years). Overall, 52,862 (18%) tests returned positive, with positivity rates for each test ranging between 1% and 46%. No increase in the positivity rate of autoimmunity tests was observed after the start of the pandemic. ConclusionThe onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was not associated with increased positivity rates of a large panel of autoimmune tests. Whether the higher incidence of autoimmune disorders associated with COVID-19 reflects detection bias or reverse causality, or is linked to seronegative autoimmune disorders requires further investigation.

Relationships Between the Auditory Nerve's Ability to Recover From Neural Adaptation, Cortical Encoding of and Perceptual Sensitivity to Within-channel Temporal Gaps in Postlingually Deafened Adult Cochlear Implant Users.

As a step toward identifying the origin of the across-electrode variation in within-channel gap detection thresholds (GDTs) measured in individual cochlear implant (CI) users, this study assessed the relationships between the auditory nerve's (AN's) ability to recover from neural adaptation, cortical encoding of and perceptual sensitivity to within-channel temporal gaps in postlingually deafened adult CI users. Study participants included 11 postlingually deafened adults with Cochlear Nucleus devices, including three bilaterally implanted participants. In each of the 14 ears tested, recovery from neural adaptation of the AN was measured using electrophysiological measures of the electrically evoked compound action potential at up to four electrode locations. The two CI electrodes in each ear showing the largest difference in the speed of adaptation recovery were selected for assessing within-channel temporal GDT. GDTs were measured using both psychophysical and electrophysiological procedures. Psychophysical GDTs were evaluated using a three-alternative, forced-choice procedure, targeting 79.4% correct on the psychometric function. Electrophysiological GDTs were measured using the electrically evoked auditory event-related potential (eERP) evoked by temporal gaps embedded in electrical pulse trains (i.e., the gap-eERP). Objective GDT was defined as the shortest temporal gap that could evoke a gap-eERP. Related-samples Wilcoxon Signed Rank test was used to compare psychophysical GDTs and objective GDTs measured at all CI electrode locations. It was also used to compare psychophysical GDTs and objective GDTs measured at the two CI electrode locations with different speeds or amounts of adaptation recovery of the AN. A Kendall Rank correlation test was used to assess the correlation between GDTs measured at the same CI electrode location using psychophysical or electrophysiological procedures. Objective GDTs were significantly larger than those measured using psychophysical procedures. There was a significant correlation between objective and psychophysical GDTs. GDTs could not be predicted based on the amount or the speed of adaptation recovery of the AN. Electrophysiological measures of the eERP evoked by temporal gaps can potentially be used to assess within-channel GDT in CI users who cannot provide reliable behavioral responses. The difference in adaptation recovery of the AN is not the primary factor accounting for the across-electrode variation in GDT in individual CI users.

Detection Framework of Abrupt Changes and Trends in Rainfall Erosivity in Three Gorges Reservoir, China

Rainfall erosivity is commonly used to estimate the probability of soil erosion caused by rainfall. The accurate detection of temporal changes in rainfall erosivity and the identification of abrupt changes and trends are important for understanding the physical causes of variation. In this study, a detection framework is introduced to identify temporal changes in rainfall erosivity time series as follows: (i) The significance of time series variation of rainfall erosivity is assessed based on the Hurst coefficient and divided into three levels: None, medium, and high. (ii) The detection of abrupt changes (Mann–Kendall, Moving T, and Bayesian tests) and trends (Spearman and Kendall rank correlation tests) of variate series and the correlation coefficient between the variation component and the original series is calculated. (iii) The modified series is obtained by preferentially eliminating the variation component (trend or change point) with larger correlation coefficients. (iv) We substituted the modified series into steps i to iii until the correlation coefficient was not significant. This framework is used to analyze the variation of rainfall erosivity in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China. The results showed that by using traditional methods, both an increasing trend and an upward change point were observed in Zigui station. However, after the upward change point was deducted from the annual rainfall erosivity series R(t), the resultant Rm(t) showed no statistically significant trend. Trend analysis should be performed considering the existence of an abrupt change to assess the long-term changes in rainfall erosivity series; otherwise, it would result in the wrong conclusion. In addition, the change points detected in the Rm(t) varied with the methods. Compared with the single-test method, the proposed framework can effectively reduce uncertainty.

Feature Selection for Fault Detection and Prediction based on Event Log Analysis

Event logs are widely used for anomaly detection and prediction in complex systems. Existing log-based anomaly detection methods usually consist of four main steps: log collection, log parsing, feature extraction, and anomaly detection, wherein the feature extraction step extracts useful features for anomaly detection by counting log events. For a complex system, such as a lithography machine consisting of a large number of subsystems, its log may contain thousands of different events, resulting in abounding extracted features. However, when anomaly detection is performed at the subsystem level, analyzing all features becomes expensive and unnecessary. To mitigate this problem, we develop a feature selection method for log-based anomaly detection and prediction. Specifically, our method consists of three main modules: the Log Event Vectorization module that converts semi-structured log texts into time series; the Selection of Relevant Features module that leverages Kendall rank correlation and Granger causality test to select log events for fault detection and prediction; and the Removal of Redundant Features module that utilises Kendall rank correlation to reduce redundant log events. Results on 25 real-world datasets show that our method can detect and predict faults more accurately by selecting a small proportion of log events, thereby improving the effectiveness and efficiency.

Correlations and Hierarchical Clustering Investigation Between Weather and SARS-CoV-2

Background:: Humanity today faces a global emergency. It is conceivably the greatest crisis of our generation. The coronavirus pandemic, which has many global implications, has led researchers worldwide to seek solutions to this crisis, including the search for effective treatment in the first place. Objective:: This study aims to identify the factors that can have an essential effect on COVID-19 comportment. Having proper management and control of imports of COVID-19 depends on many factors that are highly dependent on a country's sanitary capacity and infrastructure technology. Nevertheless, meteorological parameters can also be a connecting factor to this disease; seines temperature and humidity are compatible with the behavior of a seasonal respiratory virus. Methods:: In this work, we analyze the correlation between weather and the COVID-19 epidemic in Casablanca, the economic capital of Morocco. It is based on the primary analysis of COVID-19 surveillance data from the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Morocco and weather data from the meteorological data. Weather factors include minimum temperature (°C), maximum temperature (°C), mean temperature (°C), maximum wind speed (Km/h), humidity (%), and rainfall (mm). The Spearman and Kendall rank correlation test is used for data analysis. Between the weather components. Results:: The mean temperature, maximum temperature (°C) and Humidity were significantly correlated with the COVID-19 pandemic with respectively (r= -0.432, r = -0.480; r=0.402, and p=- 0.212, p= -0.160, and p= &amp;-0.240). Conclusion:: This discovery helps reduce the incidence rate of COVID-19 in Morocco, considering the significant correlation between weather and COVID-19, of about more than 40%.

On the Relationship between Meteorological Variables, Dst Index, Solar Wind Speed, Solar Radio Flux, and Cosmic Rays and COVID-19 Cases

This study aims to determine the influential role of the meteorological, solar, and geophysical factors and cosmic rays on the transmission of COVID-19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The meteorological factors were air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and atmospheric pressure. The solar radio flux, Dst index, and solar wind speed were utilized as representatives of the solar and geophysical variables. The association between these variables and the COVID-19 pandemic cases from 3 April 2020 to 1 August 2021 was investigated using the Spearman and Kendall rank correlation tests. The obtained results showed that the air temperature and average wind speed are positively associated with the daily number of reported COVID-19 cases. On the other hand, the mean values of relative humidity and atmospheric pressure are inversely correlated with the number of COVID-19 cases in Riyadh. Moreover, the results showed that the Dst index and cosmic rays are positively correlated with the COVID-19 cases. Contrarily, solar wind speed and radio flux at 10.7 cm have negative correlations with the COVID-19 cases. The obtained results will help the epidemiologists to understand the behavior of the virus against meteorological, solar, and geophysical variables and can be considered as a useful supplement to help national and international organizations and healthcare policymakers in the process of strategizing to combat COVID-19.

A cross-sectional study of the upper limb non-neurogenic physical findings in computer operators and their relation to pain and neurological findings.

The character of upper limb disorders in computer operators is subject to debate. While nerve involvement is suggested by the presence of pain, paresthesia and subjective weakness, these symptoms are mainly interpreted as related to pathologies outside the nervous system. Findings in a previous study involving computer operators indicated peripheral nerve afflictions with specific locations in symptomatic subjects. Based on the same sample, this study addresses the relation of non-neurogenic findings to pain and neurological findings. Overall, 96 computer operators scored their perceived pain in the neck, shoulder, elbow, and wrist/hand on a Visual Analogue Scale of 0-9. They underwent 2 sets of blinded physical examinations of selected non-neurogenic and neurological items, respectively. The authors analyzed correlations between the scores of each non-neuropathic finding, and a) mean pain scores for each and all regions, and b) scores for neurological patterns reflecting brachial plexopathy, median neuropathy (the elbow), and posterior interosseous neuropathy, respectively, and their combination. Kendall's rank correlation test was applied for all statistical analyses. A median pain level of 1 or 0.5 was reported by 80 and 57 participants on the mouse-operating or contralateral side, respectively. Non-neurogenic and neurological findings were frequent. The mean overall pain correlated with palpation soreness of the neck insertions, and of the trapezius and supraspinatus muscles. Neck and elbow pain correlated with palpation soreness at the neck insertions and the lateral epicondyles, respectively. Significant correlations on the mouse-operating side were identified between posterior interosseous neuropathy and lateral epicondyle soreness, and between median neuropathy and any neurological pattern, and trapezius and lateral epicondyle soreness. Pain correlated with palpation soreness, which again correlated with the neurological patterns. Palpation soreness may be less significant as a marker of a painful disorder as it correlated no better with regional than with overall pain. The physical examination of computer operators should include a sufficient neurological assessment. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(5):679-91.

A Correlation Method for Meteorological Factors and Air pollution in association to covid-19 pandemic in the most affected city in Indonesia

This study aims to validate the correlation between meteorological factors and air pollution with the spread of Covid-19 in Jakarta, Indonesia. This study examined the Covid-19 cases of Jakarta and its five municipalities. The secondary data of Covid-19 cases, includes Daily Positive Cases (DPC) and Total Daily Positive Cases (TDPC), were retrieved from the Health Office of DKI Jakarta Province, while the meteorological and air pollution parameters were obtained from the online database archives. Kendall and Spearman rank correlation tests were used to analyze correlation between DPC and TDPC with meteorological and air pollution parameters. This study found that Air Quality Index and PM10 showed a significant positive correlation with DPC in municipalities of Jakarta. Also, the average air temperature was positively correlated to TDPC in all region of Jakarta. Average air temperature, Air Quality Index, and PM10 were the factors that take into account for the spread of Covid-19 pandemic in Jakarta, Indonesia. The warmer temperature associated to the higher number of case. Thus, there are no indications that the spread of Covid-19 in subtropical or temperate country may decrease when entering a warmer season that resembles the climatic characteristics in tropical region. Additionally, the significance of air pollutant factors implies that reducing air pollution should be promoted as it might reduce the spread of Covid-19. The findings of this study would be useful to support the strategy and policy in preventing the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

Research on runoff variation trend and hydrological situation variation in Wujiang River Basin

This paper selected the Wujiang River Basin as the study area, and restored the runoff process at Wulong station through complicated calculation. By using Mann-Kendall, Kendall rank correlation test and other test methods, there was no significant trend for the runoff in the Wujiang River Basin. The RVA method was applied to analyze the influence degree for the existing cascade reservoir operation on the hydrological regime of the Wujiang River, and it was concluded that the overall hydrologic indicators alteration degree of Wulong Station was high. By simulating the operation scenarios of the cascade reservoirs, future hydrological regime alteration of Wulong station was predicted. Compared with the current situation of Wulong station, the results showed that the inflow will decrease in flood season, and the inflow will increase in dry season.

Cure Rates of Control Interventions in Randomized Trials for Onychomycosis Treatments: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

<p>Background: The efficacy of antifungals for onychomycosis has been determined in randomized controlled trials (RCTs); interestingly their control arms have demonstrated some therapeutic effects. These controls constitute either placebos (inert pills) or vehicles (all but the antifungal component of the creams). The objective of this research was to determine (i) whether RCT controls exhibited statistically-relevant efficacy rates (i.e. beyond the "placebo effect"), (ii) whether oral and topical controls differed in their efficacies, and (iii) if the efficacy rates of the controls correlated with those of the active comparator associated with that control.</p> <p>Methods: RCTs of oral and topical monotherapies for dermatophyte toenail onychomycosis were identified through a systematic literature search. For our meta-analyses of cure rates the double arcsine transformation was used. The N-1 chi squared test was used to determine whether the cure rates significantly differed between topical and oral controls. Correlation was investigated using Kendall rank correlation tests.</p> <p>Results: The pooled mycological, complete, and clinical cure rates of all control interventions (n = 19 trials) were 9%, 1%, and 6%, respectively. The pooled efficacy rates for oral and topical controls were: mycological cure rate, 7% and 12% (p=0.0016); complete cure rate, 1% for both; and clinical cure rate, 4% and 8%, respectively (p=0.0033). For oral RCTs, the respective cure rates of the active therapies were not correlated with controls. However, for topical RCTs, as the mycological and clinical cure rates of the active therapy increased, so did those of the topical vehicle associated with the active therapy in question, and vice versa.</p> <p>Conclusions: The topical vehicle cure rates were often higher than the oral placebo cure rates, likely due to the presence of non-antifungal chemicals (e.g. moisturizers, urea) with antifungal and debriding properties, which are not present in oral controls.</p>.

Influence of air pollution and meteorological factors on the spread of COVID-19 in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region and air quality during the outbreak

This study investigated the effects of weather conditions, air pollutants, and the air quality index (AQI) on daily cases of COVID-19 in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR). In this research, we collected data from January 1 to March 30, 2020 (90 days). This study used secondary data of meteorological and air pollutant parameters obtained from the Pollution Control Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as well as daily confirmed COVID-19 case data in the BMR obtained from the official webpage of the Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand. We employed descriptive statistics, and Spearman and Kendall rank correlation tests were used to investigate the associations of weather variables, air pollutants, AQI with daily confirmed COVID-19 cases. Our findings indicate that CO, NO2, SO2, O3 PM10, PM2.5, AQI have a significantly negative association with daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in the BMR, whereas meteorological parameters such as temperature, relative humidity (RH), absolute humidity (AH) and wind speed (WS) showed significant positive associations with daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in the BMR. Our study is a useful supplement to encourage regulatory bodies to promote environmental strategies, as air pollution regulation could be a sustainable policy for mitigating the harmful effects of air pollutants. Furthermore, this study provides new insights into the relationship between daily meteorological factors, AQI, and air pollutants and daily confirmed COVID-19 cases in the BMR. These data may provide useful information to the public health authorities and decision makers in Thailand, as well as to the World Health Organization (WHO), in order to set proper strategic aimed at reducing the impact of the COVID-19. Future studies concerning SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses should investigate the possibility of infectious droplet dispersion in indoor and outdoor air during and after the epidemic outbreak.

A Comparison Association Study between COVID-19 Spreading, Particulate Matters, and Meteorological Factors in Most and Least Air Polluted Cities

Meteorological parameters and particulate matters of air pollution are the crucial factors affecting the transmission of virus. The present study analyzed the association between new COVID-19 cases and particulate matters and climate indicators in most air polluted cities (Delhi, and Jakarta) and least air polluted cities (Paris, and London). Secondary published data of daily COVID-19 cases and meteorological conditions e.g. temperature, relative and absolute humidity, wind speed, precipitation, and particulate matters (PM2.5 and PM10) from official and indirect source were used to perform Kendall and Spearman rank correlation tests. Temperature which considered as crucial factor of virus transmission showed a significant positive association with new COVID-19 cases. Correlation test however, showed both insignificant association between daily new case and humidity, wind speed, and rainfall in the selected cities. New COVID-19 cases were significantly correlated with PM10 in all studied cities. In contrast, no positive association noticed between virus transmission and PM2.5 in Delhi. Result of present study indicated the high PM10 was associated with virus transmission but association between meteorological factors and COVID-19 suggests further investigation to fill the current gap of knowledge.

Testing Link of Climatic Factors and Air Pollution with COVID-19 amid the Second Wave in India

Several recent works indicated the association of climatic factors and air pollution with the spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19, total daily confirmed deaths and new cases). Nonetheless, the impact of climatic and environmental conditions concerning virus spread and demise, yet not been solved. Present research work focuses on the spread of COVID-19 over five distinct states/territories of India; those have pretty different climatic conditions and the air quality index. The Kendall rank correlation and Spearman rank correlation tests at 95% significance were used from 3 Jan-15 May 15, 2021 (132 days), including April 2021, a month of sharp rise COVID-19 second wave. For all the regions, a significant positive correlation of temperature (>0.6) and a significant negative correlation of humidity (0.5). For all the states, a significant and consistent inverse relationship (<-0.3) is found between COVID-19 and the daily Air Quality Index (AQI) from 1 Mar to 13 May 2021 (74 days). Thus, increase in temperature and winds, decrease in relative humidity were the climatic reasons, those chipped in COVID-19 cases surge and consequential enhancement of Air quality. These results are quite promising to comprehend the mutual tie-up between climate and COVID-19.

Impact of climatic parameters on coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic progression in India: Analysis and prediction

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading very fast globally and various factors of it have to be analyzed. Climatic parameters play very crucial role in spreading of an epidemic, that is, COVID-19 worldwide. Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze the effect of climatic parameters (average temperature [AT], atmospheric pressure, relative humidity [RH], solar radiation [SR], and wind speed [WS]) on the COVID-19 epidemic during March 25, 2020, to June 15, 2020, in most affected states of India, that is, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Tamil Nadu. Materials and Methods: We quantitatively establish the correlation between climatic parameters and COVID-19 cases using statistical tests, that is, Kendall and Spearman rank correlation test. A comparative study of climatic parameters in the current COVID-19 period from previous 2 years (2018–2019) has been carried out. Results: The obtained results indicate that the numbers of cases are highly correlated with the AT (r2 > 0.6, P < 0.001) in Delhi whereas a moderate correlation (r2 < 0.6, P < 0.001) has been estimated for Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Similarly, an intermediate range of correlation coefficient has been observed for other climatic parameters. The range of climatic parameters has been found corresponding to maximum number of cases results as AT (25~40°C), RH (40~70%), AT (740~965 mmHg), SR (200–250 W/m2), and WS (0.5~14 m/s). Conclusion: This study emphasizes that climatic parameters played a crucial role in COVID-19 progression in India. The outcomes of this study would be helpful to control COVID-19 not only in India but globally.

Smartphone-Based Monitoring of Parkinson Disease: Quasi-Experimental Study to Quantify Hand Tremor Severity and Medication Effectiveness.

BackgroundHand tremor typically has a negative impact on a person’s ability to complete many common daily activities. Previous research has investigated how to quantify hand tremor with smartphones and wearable sensors, mainly under controlled data collection conditions. Solutions for daily real-life settings remain largely underexplored.ObjectiveOur objective was to monitor and assess hand tremor severity in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), and to better understand the effects of PD medications in a naturalistic environment.MethodsUsing the Welch method, we generated periodograms of accelerometer data and computed signal features to compare patients with varying degrees of PD symptoms.ResultsWe introduced and empirically evaluated the tremor intensity parameter (TIP), an accelerometer-based metric to quantify hand tremor severity in PD using smartphones. There was a statistically significant correlation between the TIP and self-assessed Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) II tremor scores (Kendall rank correlation test: z=30.521, P<.001, τ=0.5367379; n=11). An analysis of the “before” and “after” medication intake conditions identified a significant difference in accelerometer signal characteristics among participants with different levels of rigidity and bradykinesia (Wilcoxon rank sum test, P<.05).ConclusionsOur work demonstrates the potential use of smartphone inertial sensors as a systematic symptom severity assessment mechanism to monitor PD symptoms and to assess medication effectiveness remotely. Our smartphone-based monitoring app may also be relevant for other conditions where hand tremor is a prevalent symptom.