One-tailed T-test Research Articles

P28: Analysis of Surface Electromyography (sEMG) Signals for Motion Signatures in Strength Training Exercises via Stretchable Wearable Electronic Sensors

Background: The characterization of commonly used strength training exercises has a range of implications for analysis of techniques displaying proper form and injury prevention in both sports and clinical rehabilitation settings. This study examines the ability of wearable sensors to effectively determine the degree of activation of different muscle groups using surface electromyography (sEMG) signals. The interpretation of these signals across muscle groups within an exercise allow for the characterization of their motion signatures. Wearable sensors with embedded electrodes (BioStamps RC, MC10 Inc.) were applied to two defined muscle groups for three exercises: a triceps push-up (PU), a biceps curl (BC) and an unweighted squat (US). Methods: Seven healthy volunteers performed three consecutive exercises in the following order; PU, BC, and US. Each exercise was performed for five repetitions with BioStamps applied to the distal and proximal ends of the subjects’ dominant side using adhesive bandages. For each of the defined exercises the investigator played a timed voice recording in which the subjects were instructed to perform the series of repetitions with consistent timing. Sensors automatically upload de-identified data to a tablet device during use. The following parameters are reported from the stamp: electromyographic data (of the muscle causing abduction and adduction) and acceleration (of the distal and proximal ends of the limb which is being abducted/adducted). The data was uploaded to Python and analyzed using a rolling average. P-values were then determined using a one-tailed t-test. Results: Each of the three strength exercises had two identifiable motion signatures, one from each muscle group, derived from the sEMG data which shows the peak muscle activation during the 5 repetitions of an exercise (Figure 1, E). Placement on the BioStamps on the TB and BB recorded activation in the PU and BC (Figure 1, A & B). There is a difference between the TB and BB activation in the PU (p=0.358) but no difference was found between their activation in the BC (p=0.06). This finding was limited by the small sample size (n=7), which would be improved in a future study. Placement of the BioStamps on the BF and RF was used in the unweighted squat (Figure 1, C & D). There is a difference in the RF and BF activation in the US (p=0.179). Discussion: By nature of the antagonistic motion of the triceps brachii (TB) and biceps brachii (BB) in a push-up, activation levels measured by sEMG recordings are expected to be similar. The TB acts as one of the primary movers, while the BB acts as an antagonist and stabilizes the movement to allow for a controlled push-up. Similarly, in a squat similar levels of activation were expected in the rectus femoris (RF) and the biceps femoris (BF) as the RF functions as a primary mover and the BF as a stabilizer. Activation of both the primary mover and stabilizing muscles is important for proper form and function.Figure 1. A & B. Placement of BioStamps on the triceps brachii and biceps brachii, muscles used in the biceps curl (p=0.06) and triceps push-up (p=0.358). C & D. Placement of BioStamps on the rectus femoris and the biceps femoris, muscles used in the unweighted squat (p=0.179). E. Unweighted squat sEMG graph showing muscle activation (mV) of rectus femoris over time (s).

NK cell expansion after primary multimodal treatment to predict progression free survival in inoperable stage III NSCLC.

e20584 Background: During multimodal cancer therapy an acute lymphocytopenia occurs, which is associated with poor survival in inoperable stage III NSCLC patients. A prospective analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) during multimodal treatment was performed to assess dynamic changes of leukocyte subpopulations after concurrent chemo-radioimmunotherapy (cCRT) in order to extract biomarkers to predict progression free survival (PFS). Methods: 20 patients (17 male, 3 female), at median age of 65.5 years (range 34 to 79), 11 suffering from adenocarcinoma, 8 squamous cell carcinoma, and 1 undifferentiated NSCLC, were enrolled in the study. They received thoracic radiotherapy (TRT, 2/20, 10%), cCRT (11/20, 55%), or cCRT with checkpoint inhibition (cCRT-ICI, 7/20, 35%), one patient (1/20, 5%) withdrew consent and was excluded from analysis. Patients were grouped into poor ( < 6months), intermediate (≥6 < 12 months), or favorable (≥12 months) PFS. Blood was analyzed via flow cytometry for leukocyte sub-populations at 9 time points. Here, we report on NK cells and focus on the time period starting after end of TRT until 6 months thereafter. The area under curve (AUC) of absolute cell counts for this period was calculated to provide an aggregate measure for the time-course dynamics. Results: NK cell counts were consistently low in all patients at the end of TRT. Patient-individual recovery of cell counts 6 months after RTend (expressed as the AUC) was observed, which was beneficially affected by consolidation ICI (one-tailed t-test, p = 0.031). Retrospective assignment of the AUC values to the PFS groups revealed a positive association of high AUC values with PFS. Patients with longest PFS (≥12 months; 9/19) had higher AUC values compared to patients with intermediate PFS (≥6 < 12 months; 5/19; t-test p = 0.043) or poor PFS ( < 6months; 5/19; p = 0.0018). The difference between AUC values of intermediate and poor PFS groups was also significant (p = 0.039). Conclusions: Patients who responded with early NK cell expansion after TRT, cCRT, or cCRT-ICI had significantly longer PFS compared to those without increase. Longitudinal monitoring of NK cells and calculating the AUC (RTend and 6 months thereafter), which reflects absolute cell counts, is a promising biomarker to predict PFS.

Pilot trial of the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a pain management intervention adapted for older adults with cancer in rural settings.

e24021 Background: Among the growing older adult U.S. population, under-treated cancer pain is a major public health concern. Those living in rural areas are even more vulnerable due to less access to care, patients’ concerns around the over-use of pain medication, and patients’ preferences for non-pharmacological interventions. There is a clear need for interventions designed to improve pain management among this vulnerable population. Methods: In this study, older adults with cancer (age 65+ years) were enrolled in an open arm trial in rural Tennessee to test feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a previously developed intervention, Ca-HELP, to improve pain communication with one’s oncologist. Prior to the trial, the original Ca-HELP intervention was adapted for use among older adults in rural settings. Feasibility was examined through accrual and intervention completion rates. Acceptability was measured through single-item questions assessing helpfulness, difficulty, and satisfaction with the intervention. Intervention efficacy was assessed using mean score differences from pre- and post-intervention assessments of pain self-management, self-efficacy for communicating with physicians about pain severity, pain severity, and misconceptions about pain. Mean score differences were analyzed using one-tailed paired samples t-tests, with an alpha level = 0.05. Results: A total of n = 30 patients were enrolled in this trial, adequately powering this trial (0.85) to detect moderate effect size differences. Participants were 56.7% female, predominately white (80.0%), less educated (53.3% less than high school), and lower income (50.0% household income less than $21,000). Fidelity rates of 90% for communication consistency (pacing, volume, introduction to purpose of intervention) and 100% for delivery of intervention components were observed. This intervention was highly feasible, with a 100% accrual rate and 100% intervention completion rate. Regarding acceptability, all patients (n = 30) rated the intervention as helpful, with the majority rating it as “very helpful” (n = 24, 80.0%). Most patients rated the intervention as “not at all difficult” (90.0%), enjoyed participating in the intervention (70.0%), and were “very satisfied” with the intervention (83.3%). Pre/post changes in outcomes indicated significant improvements in pain self-management and self-efficacy for communicating with physicians about pain severity, as well as significant reductions in pain severity and pain misconceptions (all p < .05). Conclusions: Results of this study indicate the adapted version of Ca-HELP was feasible, acceptable, and had potential efficacy for improving pain related outcome measures among older adults with cancer in a rural setting. Clinical trial information: NCT04262232 .

O159 Nonselective alpha blockade alone is associated with a significant decrease in ICU/CCU requirement following phaeochromocytoma resection

Abstract Introduction Preoperative treatment with alpha blockade is key to optimisation of patients with phaeochromocytoma. Beta blockers may be employed after optimal alpha blockade to prevent reflex tachycardia. The principle of treatment is to avoid severe intraoperative hypertension or hypotension, but the optimal perioperative regimen is unclear. Recent studies have suggested that dual blockade may increase the rate of intraoperative haemodynamic instability We hypothesized that nonselective alpha blockade alone, without addition of beta blockers, would reduce the need for postoperative ICU/CCU supportive care. Methods A retrospective study of all patients undergoing pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma resection between 1998 and 2022 was performed. Patients were categorized into two cohorts: Group 1 patients received alpha and beta blockers preoperatively while Group 2 patients received nonselective alpha blockade alone. The primary endpoint was the need for ICU/CCU support. Results Of 40 patients identified, adrenalectomy was performed in 36. Median age at resection was similar for both groups (63 v 56 years). Of 22 Group 1 patients 8 (36.4%) required ICU/CCU admission due to haemodynamic instability, (MLS 1.22 days) compared to 3 (21.4%) of the 14 Group 2 (MLS 0.21, p=0.035; one-tailed Two-Sample t-test assuming unequal variance). Median maximum diameter of lesions in Group 1 was 5.4cm, while Group 2 was 4.2cm. In Group 1 59% showed right adrenal disease (n=13), Group 2 43% (n=6). Conclusion Our study suggests that nonselective alpha blocker alone, without the addition of beta blockers, is associated with a significantly decreased requirement for post-operative support in the ICU or CCU following pheochromocytoma resection.

Improvement in Participant-Perceived Benefits with Long-Term Torso Weighting in Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background In prior research, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and gait and balance limitations improved in standing stability, gait parameters, and fatigability after wearing custom-placed balance-based torso-weights (BBTW) for 2-4 hours daily for 2 weeks. Participant-perceived benefits were mixed, perhaps because of short intervention duration. Purpose Examine the effect of torso weights compared to no weights or sham weights over four 4-week periods. Methods Eleven participants with MS experienced all three conditions with the order of sham versus torso-weighted conditions randomized: no weights, torso/sham-weights, sham/torso-weights, torso-weights. Weighting involved applying light (or sham) weights to a vest-like garment in strategic positions to improve reactive response to manual perturbations. Participants and assessors were blinded to active condition. Gait parameters, Sensory Organization Testing (SOT), and self-reported outcome measures were assessed at baseline and after each 1-month period. Self-report measures included the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), Movement Ability Measure Computer-Adaptive Test (MAM-CAT), Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12), and the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29). Changes in measures were compared after each time period using one-tailed t-tests with a p-value of 0.10. Results Statistically significant improvements included better scores after torso-weights compared to no weights in current movement ability (MAM-CAT now), MSIS physical and psychological subscales, and stride width. Other measures trended in the expected direction but did not reach significance. Differences between sham and torso-weight conditions did not reach significance. The interaction between weight order and weight condition was significant only for SOT, with larger improvements for the sham-first vs. weight-first group. Discussion Final torso-weighting resulted in participant-perceived benefits over the no-weight condition. Unexpectedly, scores following sham and torso-weighting periods did not differ, perhaps affected by significant baseline differences between the sham-first and weight-first groups despite randomization. Larger samples may clarify participants' benefits from this promising intervention. In prior research, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and gait and balance limitations improved in standing stability, gait parameters, and fatigability after wearing custom-placed balance-based torso-weights (BBTW) for 2-4 hours daily for 2 weeks. Participant-perceived benefits were mixed, perhaps because of short intervention duration. Examine the effect of torso weights compared to no weights or sham weights over four 4-week periods. Eleven participants with MS experienced all three conditions with the order of sham versus torso-weighted conditions randomized: no weights, torso/sham-weights, sham/torso-weights, torso-weights. Weighting involved applying light (or sham) weights to a vest-like garment in strategic positions to improve reactive response to manual perturbations. Participants and assessors were blinded to active condition. Gait parameters, Sensory Organization Testing (SOT), and self-reported outcome measures were assessed at baseline and after each 1-month period. Self-report measures included the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale (ABC), Movement Ability Measure Computer-Adaptive Test (MAM-CAT), Modified Fatigue Impact Scale (MFIS), Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale (MSWS-12), and the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29). Changes in measures were compared after each time period using one-tailed t-tests with a p-value of 0.10. Statistically significant improvements included better scores after torso-weights compared to no weights in current movement ability (MAM-CAT now), MSIS physical and psychological subscales, and stride width. Other measures trended in the expected direction but did not reach significance. Differences between sham and torso-weight conditions did not reach significance. The interaction between weight order and weight condition was significant only for SOT, with larger improvements for the sham-first vs. weight-first group. Final torso-weighting resulted in participant-perceived benefits over the no-weight condition. Unexpectedly, scores following sham and torso-weighting periods did not differ, perhaps affected by significant baseline differences between the sham-first and weight-first groups despite randomization. Larger samples may clarify participants' benefits from this promising intervention.

The effect of breast shielding outside the field of view on breast entrance surface dose in axial X-ray examinations: a phantom study.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of outside-field-of-view (FOV) lead shielding on the entrance surface dose (ESD) of the breast on an anthropomorphic X-ray phantom for a variety of axial skeleton X-ray examinations. Using an anthropomorphic phantom and radiation dosimeter, the ESD of the breast was measured with and without outside-FOV shielding in anterior-posterior (AP) abdomen, AP cervical spine, occipitomental 30° (OM30) facial bones, AP lumbar spine, and lateral lumbar spine radiography. The effect of several exposure parameters, including a low milliampere-seconds technique, grid use, automatic exposure control use, wraparound lead (WAL) use, trolley use, and X-ray table use, on the ESD of the breast with and without outside-FOV shielding was investigated. The mean ESD (μSv) and standard deviation for each radiographic protocol were calculated. A one-tailed Student's t-test was carried out to evaluate whether ESD to the breast was reduced with the use of outside-FOV shielding. A total of 920 breast ESD measurements were recorded across the different protocol parameters. The largest decrease in mean ESD of the breast with outside-FOV shielding was 0.002 μSv (P = 0.084), recorded in the AP abdomen on the table with a grid, OM30 on the table with a grid, OM30 standard protocol on the trolley, and OM30 on the trolley with WAL protocols. This decrease was found to be statistically non-significant. This study found no significant decrease in the ESD of the breast with the use of outside-FOV shielding for the AP abdomen, AP cervical spine, OM30 facial bones, AP lumbar spine, or lateral lumbar spine radiography across a range of protocols.

The Acute Effects Of ATP-Sensitive Potassium Channel Opener (Pinacidil) And Blocker (Glimepride) On the Ischemia or Reperfusion-Induced Arrhythmias

Introduction: Myocardial ischemia due to coronary obstruction and reperfusion due to the opening of the coronary vessel occurring in the acute stage of myocardial infarction leads to lethal arrhythmia and sudden death in humans. That is why pharmacological drug research to decrease these arrhythmias have been researched intensively. In this study, the effect of acute administration of pinacidil and glimepride, on ischemia or reperfusion-induced arrhythmia was aimed to be researched. Methods: Two groups were produced; In the first group, only ischemia was produced by the ligation of the left coronary artery in 20 minutes, and in the second group 6 minutes of ischemia by the ligation of the artery and the subsequent 15 minutes of reperfusion were produced by the opening of the occluded artery. Drugs were administered intravenously at 2 minutes of ischemia in the first group and just following the reperfusion in the second group. The ECG and blood pressure were recorded during ischemia and reperfusion. The type, duration, incidence of arrhythmia, heart rate, blood pressure, and the death rate from the recording were determined. All data were first compared by one-way ANOVA. Then, the drug groups with their control, and control and drug groups with each other were compared by a one-tailed student t-test. The incidence of arrhythmia and the death rate between groups was compared by the Ki square test. Results: Pinacidil significantly decreased the arrhythmia score both in the ischemia and reperfusion period but glimepiride was not effective when they were given intravenously in the acute stage of ischemia or reperfusion. Discussion and Conclusion: This study suggests that pinacidil might be a candidate for drugs that can be used to decrease arrhythmia in the acute stage of myocardial infarction but more study is needed to reveal the antiarrhythmic or proarrhythmic effect of glimepride in the acute stage of myocardial infarction.

Abstract 2094: A user-friendly R Shiny app for predicting drug response of cancer using deep learning

Abstract Realizing the full potential of precision oncology requires accurate prediction of treatment response. We previously developed a deep learning model, namely DeepDR, to predict drug sensitivity by integrating baseline profiles of mutations and gene expression of a cancer sample (Chiu et al.; DOI: 10.1186/s12920-018-0460-9). The model features a transfer learning design that captures two types of features: i) tumor relevant representations of mutation and expression data learned from tumor samples, and ii) predictive model for drug response (measured by IC50 values) learned from high-throughput drug screens of pan-cancer cell lines. DeepDR was applicable to both cell lines and tumors and achieved superior performance over conventional methods. To make the DeepDR model more accessible to biomedical researchers with limited programming skills, here we present a user-friendly platform implemented by using an R Shiny framework. The R Shiny app is a web interface that allows users to upload mutation and/or gene expression profiles of a cancer sample (cell or tumor model) and predict the sample’s response to 265 FDA-approved and investigational compounds covered by the screening library of the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) project. The app provides an intuitive user interface to interactively visualize, search, and filter prediction results among 265 compounds. It also enables downstream analyses including statistical tests and provides links to external compound databases, such as PubChem. In the original publication of DeepDR, we have validated its performance across cell lines and tumors using well-known pharmacogenomic associations, such as estrogen receptor antagonist (tamoxifen) and EGFR-targeting drugs (afatinib and gefitinib), as well as a novel agent, CX-5461, in treating hematopoietic malignancies. Here we utilized the proposed Shiny app to further predict drug sensitivity of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC; n=356) of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We investigated CTNNB1 as a demonstrating example for it is one of the most prevalent, yet undruggable, trunk mutations of HCC. A systematic search yielded nine compounds that were predicted to be significantly more effective in HCC tumors harboring CTNNB1 mutations (n=92) compared to others (n=264) (with one-tailed t-test P < 0.0001). These top compounds target critical cancer pathways, such as cell apoptosis (p53 activator and Bcl-2 inhibitor), the PI3K/AKT and MAPK signaling pathways, and DNA-dependent protein kinases, suggesting candidates for further in vitro and in vivo investigations. In summary, the present R Shiny app is a user-friendly platform that enables in silico drug screening using deep learning with no requirement of programming experience. We expect the tool to foster accessibility of our deep learning prediction machine and facilitate the process of drug development in cancer. Citation Format: Li-Ju Wang, Michael Ning, Tapsya Nayak, Satdarshan P. Monga, Yufei Huang, Yidong Chen, Yu-Chiao Chiu. A user-friendly R Shiny app for predicting drug response of cancer using deep learning [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 2094.

DFR-U-Net: Dual residual and feature fusion network for ulna and radius segmentation on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry images.

Ulna and radius segmentation of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) images is essential for measuring bone mineral density (BMD). To develop and test a novel deep learning network architecture for robust and efficient ulna and radius segmentation on DXA images. This study used two datasets including 360 cases. The first dataset included 300 cases that were randomly divided into five groups for five-fold cross-validation. The second dataset including 60 cases was used for independent testing. A deep learning network architecture with dual residual dilated convolution module and feature fusion block based on residual U-Net (DFR-U-Net) to enhance segmentation accuracy of ulna and radius regions on DXA images was developed. The Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), Jaccard, and Hausdorff distance (HD) were used to evaluate the segmentation performance. A one-tailed paired t-test was used to assert the statistical significance of our method and the other deep learning-based methods (P < 0.05 indicates a statistical significance). The results demonstrated our method achieved the promising segmentation performance, with DSC of 98.56±0.40% and 98.86±0.25%, Jaccard of 97.14±0.75% and 97.73±0.48%, and HD of 6.41±11.67 pixels and 8.23±7.82 pixels for segmentation of ulna and radius, respectively. According to statistics data analysis results, our method yielded significantly higher performance than other deep learning-based methods. The proposed DFR-U-Net achieved higher segmentation performance for ulna and radius on DXA images than the previous work and other deep learning approaches. This methodology has potential to be applied to ulna and radius segmentation to help doctors measure BMD more accurately in the future.

The Effects of Yoga Practice on Lung Function and sIL-2R Biomarkers in Individuals Working and Living in the Lonavala Industrial Area: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Pollution-related health hazards are very common among people living and/or working in industrial areas, particularly near industries and metro cities. These air pollutants contribute to allergens, increase inflammation, and affect lung function. The present study aimed to examine the effect of yoga training on lung functions and inflammation in terms of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in people working and living in a polluted area. This is a randomized controlled interventional pilot study. Forty-eight male volunteers from the industrial area, aged 20-50 years, were randomly assigned to the experimental group and the control group. Each group comprises 24 study participants. Lung function and sIL-2R were studied at the baseline and post-yoga intervention period of 16 weeks. Study data were analyzed using descriptive methods, a one-tailed t-test, a paired t-test, and an independent t-test. Study results showed directional and significant improvements in forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in the first second, and peak expiratory flow rate compared to the control group participants. The results pertaining to sIL-2R showed a directional and significant decrease in the experimental group compared to the control group. The present study showed that yoga helps to promote better health, improve lung function and reduce inflammation among people residing in polluted environments.

How low can we go? CT dose reduction in the assessment of the medial clavicular epiphysis in forensic age estimation: a prospective postmortem CT study.

Projection radiography and, more recently, computed tomography (CT) play an important role in forensic age estimation. Both in terms of general criminal responsibility and government regulations concerning refugee care, it is important to differentiate correctly between youths and adults. A disadvantage of age estimation in CT is the ionizing radiation exposure. To investigate how far the CT dose can be reduced without losing diagnostic confidence in assessing the different stages of ossification of the medial clavicle. We prospectively scanned 25 postmortem cases with a fixed parameters protocol (FPP) and a care dose modulation protocol (CDMP) for different scan parameters. Two radiologists assessed the diagnostic image quality using a 5-point Likert scale. Inter-reader agreement was evaluated with Cohen's kappa. Differences in doses between FPP and CDMP were assessed with the one-tailed t-test. The best combination of diagnostic image quality and lowest radiation dose was obtained using a CDMP with 100 kV and 40 mAs and an FPP with 100 kV and 30 mAs. Doses for 120 kV were significantly higher (one-tailed P < 0.001). The diagnostic image quality for 80 kV was insufficient overall. Our results confirm that CT imaging at 100 kV allows a sufficient image quality that is diagnostic for age estimation in the ossification of the medial clavicle.

Effects of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) on ESL Reading Comprehension at a Private Sector University in Pakistan

English is used globally as an international language. It is considered as a prestigious language which provides greater opportunities for its users. Second language acquisition is not an easy task, for language acquisition it is necessary to learn all the aspects of language such as oral and written. Learner efficiently learn language rules, pronunciation, grammar and structure which can be learned more effectively by using Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) method. The recent study aims to explore the effectiveness of CALL in Pakistan at tertiary level which focuses on the improvement of apprentices’ reading skills. This is a quasi-experimental study, the data was obtained by 15 participants through pretest and posttest. Posttest was conducted after three weeks of pretest, during the intervention period CALL was integrated in the language classroom for reading skill lessons. A paired one-tailed t-test was used to analyze test scores and a descriptive data analysis method was used to detect learners’ perceptions. The result of this research study showed that CALL is a highly effective technique used to increase the proficiency level of learners in reading comprehension.

Readability, accountability, and quality of burns first aid information available online

AimTo assess the readability, accountability, and quality of burns first aid information available online. MethodsThe top 50 English language webpages containing burns first aid information were compiled and categorised. Readability was measured using five validated tools. Accountability was assessed using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmarks. Quality was evaluated using a scale based on previous literature. ResultsTwo (4%) webpages were judged to be at the target reading level using all tools. Median grade ranged from 4.6 to 9.6 (M = 6.9, SD = 1.1). One-sample one-tailed t-test determined that median grade was not significantly below the target grade of ≤ 6.9 (p = 0.314). Only seven (14%) webpages satisfied all the JAMA accountability benchmarks. No webpages fulfilled all 15 quality criteria. Mean quality score was 9.8 (SD = 2.4). Only 27 (54%) advised 20 min of cooling. One-way analysis of variance demonstrated that accountability was influenced by source (p = 0.01). Pearson’s correlation coefficient revealed that accountability and quality had a positive correlation (r = 0.32, p = 0.02). ConclusionMuch of the burns first aid information available online is written above the recommended reading level and fails to meet standards of accountability or quality.

THE EFFECT OF USING DIGITAL DIORAMA ON STUDENT’S SPEAKING SKILL PERFORMANCE

English Education Study Program FKIP Almuslim University's third-semester students sometimes have trouble speaking the language. This is brought on by a fear of making a mistake, a lack of language knowledge, and a poor grasp of pronunciation. By utilizing effective and engaging teaching strategies and media, lecturers in the Speaking course must assist their students in resolving this issue. Diorama, particularly digital diorama, is an effective teaching tool because it is a specific three-dimensional media that illustrates or explains anything in miniature. This research was to find how the effect of using diorama in teaching students’ speaking skill ability in increasing students’ speaking skill ability. The population of these study students of in third semester of English Education Study Program of FKIP Almuslim University with 15 students. In order to see the students’ improvement on speaking skill, the procedure of quantitative data with analytic scoring rubric formulated by Oller (1979). This is the one group pre-test and post-test. The pre-test was used for knowing the skill of the students before use diorama activities. After giving the treatment, the students got the post test. The one-tailed paired-samples t-test was used to examine the effect of using diorama in teaching students’ speaking skill ability in increasing students. This result showed that digital diorama model influenced the enhancement of speaking skill after being trained with using digital diorama model.

The Application of HPLC-FLD and NMR in the Monitoring of Therapy Efficacy in Alpha-Mannosidosis.

Alpha-mannosidosis is a rare lysosomal storage disorder, caused by decreased activity of α-D-mannosidase. This enzyme is involved in the hydrolysis of mannosidic linkages in N-linked oligosaccharides. Due to the mannosidase defect, undigested mannose-rich oligosaccharides (Man2GlcNAc - Man9GlcNAc) accumulating in cells are excreted in large quantities in urine. In this work, we determined the levels of urinary mannose-rich oligosaccharides in a patient subjected to novel enzyme replacement therapy. Urinary oligosaccharides were extracted using solid phase extraction (SPE), labeled by fluorescent tag 2-aminobenzamide, and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detector (FLD). The identity of peaks was determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry. In addition, the levels of urinary mannose-rich oligosaccharides were also quantified by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The data were analyzed using one-tailed paired t-test and Pearson's correlation tests. Compared to levels before the administration of therapy, an approximately two-folds decrease in total mannose-rich oligosaccharides after one month of treatment was observed by NMR and HPLC. After four months, an approximately ten-folds significant decrease in total urinary mannose-rich oligosaccharides was detected, suggesting therapy effectiveness. A significant decrease in the levels of oligosaccharides with 7-9 mannose units was detected by HPLC. The application of both HPLC-FLD and NMR in quantification of oligosaccharide biomarkers is a suitable approach for monitoring of therapy efficacy in alpha-mannosidosis patients.

The Influence of Meteorological Parameters on PM10: A Statistical Analysis of an Urban and Rural Environment in Izmir/Türkiye

Air pollution is a substantial menace, especially in industrialized urban zones, which affects the balance of the environment, life of vital organisms and human health. Besides the main causes of air pollution such as dense urbanization, poor quality fuels and vehicle emissions, physical environment characteristics play an important role on air quality. Therefore, it is vital to understand the relationship between the characteristics of the natural environment and air quality. This study examines the correlations between the PM10 pollutant data and meteorological parameters such as temperature (Tair), relative humidity (RH), and wind speed (WS) and direction (WD) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project. Two different zones (Vilayetler Evi as an urban zone and Sasalı Natural Life Park as a rural zone) of Izmir Province in Türkiye are used as a case study and the PM10 data is evaluated between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2021. A one-tailed t-test is used in order to statistically determine the relationships between the PM10 pollutant data and meteorological parameters. As a further study, practical significance of the parameters is investigated via the effect size method and the results show that the RH is found to be the most influencing parameter on the PM10 for both zones, while Tair is found to be statistically non-significant.

Social distancing between personal belongings during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to instructions and suggestions from governments and experts to maintain social (physical) distance between people to prevent aerosol transmission of the virus, which is now becoming the norm. Thus, we examined whether the pandemic extended the distance between personal belongings. Methods: We recruited 68 university students and instructed them to place their belongings on a long table following another participant (i.e., confederate). We measured the physical distance between the two belongings (i.e., the participant’s and the confederate’s). We collected data between June 10, 2022 and January 23, 2023. Pre-pandemic data was from Ariga (2016). Analysis was completed with one-tailed t-tests. Results: Compared with the pre-pandemic results, via one-tailed t-test, the distance between the two belongings during the pandemic was significantly longer. Our results supported the hypothesis that the psychological framework for processing people’s belongings has dramatically changed during this pandemic. Conclusion: This change may have been driven by social distancing practices or an increase in perceived vulnerability to disease. Our results provide new implications for future public spatial design, in other words, not only the distance between people, but also the distance between their belongings.

Targeting influenza A virus by splicing inhibitor herboxidiene reveals the importance of subtype-specific signatures around splice sites

BackgroundThe association between M segment splicing and pathogenicity remains ambiguous in human influenza A viruses. In this study, we aimed to investigate M splicing in various human influenza A viruses and characterize its physiological roles by applying the splicing inhibitor, herboxidiene.MethodsWe examined the M splicing of human H1N1 and H3N2 viruses by comparing three H1N1 and H3N2 strains, respectively, through reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses. We randomly selected M sequences of human H1N1, H2N2, and H3N2 viruses isolated from 1933 to 2020 and examined their phylogenetic relationships. Next, we determined the effects of single nucleotide variations on M splicing by generating mutant viruses harboring the 55C/T variant through reverse genetics. To confirm the importance of M2 splicing in the replication of H1N1 and H3N2, we treated infected cells with splicing inhibitor herboxidiene and analyzed the viral growth using plaque assay. To explore the physiological role of the various levels of M2 protein in pathogenicity, we challenged C57BL/6 mice with the H1N1 WSN wild-type strain, mutant H1N1 (55T), and chimeric viruses including H1N1 + H3wt and H1N1 + H3mut. One-tailed paired t-test was used for virus titer calculation and multiple comparisons between groups were performed using two-way analysis of variance.ResultsM sequence splice site analysis revealed an evolutionarily conserved single nucleotide variant C55T in H3N2, which impaired M2 expression and was accompanied by collinear M1 and mRNA3 production. Aberrant M2 splicing resulted from splice-site selection rather than a general defect in the splicing process. The C55T substitution significantly reduced both M2 mRNA and protein levels regardless of the virus subtype. Consequently, herboxidiene treatment dramatically decreased both the H1N1 and H3N2 virus titers. However, a lower M2 expression only attenuated H1N1 virus replication and in vivo pathogenicity. This attenuated phenotype was restored by M replacement of H3N2 M in a chimeric H1N1 virus, despite low M2 levels.ConclusionsThe discrepancy in M2-dependence emphasizes the importance of M2 in human influenza A virus pathogenicity, which leads to subtype-specific evolution. Our findings provide insights into virus adaptation processes in humans and highlights splicing regulation as a potential antiviral target.

Relevance of Problem Based Learning based on Science Education for Sustainability Development towards Problem Solving Ability

One of the skills that students must master is problem solving abilities, in which students will learn to solve problems in their surroundings. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the PBL (Problem Based Learning) model integrated with the Science Education for Sustainability Development (SESD) approach to students' problem solving abilities. The use of the SESD-integrated PBL model in problem solving ability is something new that has never been done. The study used a quasi-experimental design quantitative method with a pretest-posttest design. The research sample was 24 students of grade 8th junior high school as an experimental class that applied the integrated PBL model with SESD and 24 students of grade 8th junior high school as the control class that applied the non-PBL model integrated with SESD. Data collection techniques used observation sheets, tests, and questionnaires, which were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results of the two-tailed t-test yielded a P-Value of 0.001, where if the P-Value &lt; α = 5% (0.05), then H0 was rejected. So it shows that there is a significant difference in problem solving ability between the experimental class and the control class. The results of the one-tailed t-test that has been carried out produce a P-Value of 0.001 so that H0 is accepted. The results of the one-tailed t-test also show an estimate for a difference of 13.85. Therefore, the test decision can be stated that the problem solving abilities of students in the experimental class are better than those in the control class. The ANCOVA test shows that the value of Sig. of 0.010 &lt; α (0.05) shows that the PBL model integrated with SESD is considered effective for problem solving abilities. So it can be concluded that students' problem solving abilities using integrated PBL models with SESD are more effective than students' problem solving abilities using non-PBL models integrated with SESD.

The Incidence of Urgent Tube Shunt Surgery for Diabetic Neovascular Glaucoma at a Tertiary Academic Medical Center.

Diabetic neovascular glaucoma is a secondary glaucoma that may require immediate correction of elevated intraocular pressure to control pain and protect the optic nerve. While there is a seasonal trend to glucose levels, it is unknown if a seasonal trend exists for diabetic neovascular glaucoma. This study evaluates the incidence of urgent glaucoma tube shunt implantation in diabetic neovascular glaucoma in a tertiary academic referral center in Southern California. Electronic medical records were queried for urgent glaucoma tube shunt surgery from 2014 to 2021. The number of cases were separated by month of occurrence, and average hemoglobin A1c values were calculated per month. Data were analyzed via ANOVA tests and one-tailed t-tests. A total of 127 cases were identified. The months of March and April contained the most cases averaging 3 and 2.75 cases, respectively. April had statistically significant higher case numbers than that of other months (P = .041). ANOVA tests excluding April showed no statistically significant difference between the remaining months (P = .901). Average hemoglobin A1c values were highest in the months of April and March at 9.8 and 9.6%, respectively. Emergency glaucoma tube shunt surgery for diabetic neovascular glaucoma occurs most frequently in April. This observation may provide insight into disease prevention through diabetes management and help improve surgical operations such that staffing and resources are allocated accordingly.