scholarly journals An Analysis of Malar Fat Volume in Two Age Groups: Implications for Craniofacial Surgery

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 231-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina L. Corey ◽  
Gerald R. Popelka ◽  
Jose E. Barrera ◽  
Sam P. Most
Keyword(s):  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Spin Echo ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Pearson Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Spin Echo Sequence ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Analysis Application ◽  
Fat Volume ◽  
Two Age Groups

Objective To evaluate how malar fat pad (MFP) volumes vary with age, after controlling for gender and body mass index (BMI). Study Design A prospective case–control study evaluating volume of the MFP in women of two age groups. Methods Soft tissue dimensions were measured in eight subjects using magnetic resonance imaging. A multiplanar localizing sequence, followed in sagittal and coronal orientations using a turbo spin echo sequence, was performed to define the MFP. Volumetric calculations were then performed using a 3D image analysis application (Dextroscope, Volume Interactions, Republic of Singapore) to circumscribe areas, orient dimensions, and calculate volumes of the MFP. Results These data reveal no significant difference in the mean (standard deviation) right MFP ( p = 0.50), left MFP ( p = 0.41), or total MFP ( p = 0.45) volumes when comparing the two age groups. In addition, these data indicate that there was no correlation between age and total MFP volume (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.27). Moreover, there was no correlation between age and the ratio of total volume/BMI (Pearson correlation coefficient −0.18). Conclusions Although the sample size of this study was small, these data indicate that ptosis of midfacial fat is more important than volume loss in midfacial aging. These data would suggest repositioning as the primary modality for craniofacial reconstruction.

Multiparametric Ultrasound to Assess Adult Carotid Arteries

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 144-149
Author(s):  
Juhyun Lee ◽  
Andrew Phan ◽  
Jing Gao
Keyword(s):  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Intima Media Thickness ◽  
Carotid Intima Media Thickness ◽  
Pearson Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Media Thickness ◽  
Ultrasound Parameters ◽  
Multiparametric Ultrasound ◽  
Distensibility Coefficient

The aim of the study was to assess the value of multiparametric ultrasound in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk screening of the carotid artery. We performed ultrasonography of carotid arteries in 96 adults in 3 age groups: senior (age ≥65 years, n = 44), middle age (age 45-64 years, n = 31), and young adults (age 20-44 years, n = 21). The senior group was then divided into subgroups: athletes (n = 21) and non-athletes (n = 23). Ultrasound parameters included carotid intima-media thickness, distensibility coefficient, and presence of plaque(s). Statistical analyses included one-way analysis of variance with post hoc to analyze the differences in ultrasound parameters among the age groups; unpaired t-test to examine differences between hypertensive and normotensive participants, between seniors with and without plaque(s), and between senior athletes and non-athletes; Pearson correlation coefficient to analyze correlations of ultrasound parameters to age and blood pressure; and intraclass correlation coefficient to test intra- and inter-observer reliability in performing multiparametric ultrasound. Carotid intima-media thickness and distensibility coefficient significantly differed among the 3 age groups and between athletes and non-athletes ( P < .001). Senior athletes had greater distensibility than non-athletes (all Ps < .05). Carotid intima-media thickness was increased and distensibility was reduced with age and hypertension. Age and blood pressure positively correlated with carotid intima-media thickness (Pearson correlation coefficient, r > .21) and negatively with distensibility coefficient (Pearson correlation coefficient, r < –.48). Inter- and intra-observer reliability in performing multiparametric ultrasound was good (intraclass correlation coefficient, r > .81). Multiparametric ultrasound is a useful tool to assess carotid artery function and morphology comprehensively.

Translation and validation of the Italian Version of the User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS): questionnaire validation study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone Morselli ◽  
Alexander Domnich ◽  
Arcangelo Sebastianelli ◽  
Chiara Bucchi ◽  
Pietro Spatafora ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
T Test ◽  
Pearson Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Cronbach’S Alpha ◽  
Cronbach's Alpha ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Paired T Test

BACKGROUND Health sciences are steadily developing apps to help people to have a correct lifestyle and, in case of chronic diseases, to help physicians to follow their patients. However, a proper validated tool to evaluate patients’ perception of apps’ usefulness, graphic and comfort to use it still lacks in many languages. At present time, there is an English validated questionnaire called User Version of the Mobile Application Rating Scale (uMARS). OBJECTIVE Aim of the study is to translate and validate uMARS in Italian. METHODS uMARS questionnaire have been translated into Italian by an official translator from English. Then, questionnaire has been administrated to 100 smartphone users to evaluate the same App at time 0 and at time 1 (after 2 weeks). Paired t test, Pearson Correlation Coefficient,Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICCs) and Cronbach’s Alpha were used to evaluate Italian uMARS reliability and validity. RESULTS Subjects were 100, 52 male (52%) and 48 females (48%). Mean age was 22.8 (SD: 3.4). All the enrolled subjects answered to all questions both at time 0 and at time 1. Paired t test showed no statistically significant difference for each answer or answers group between time 0 and 1 (P>0.05). In detail, higher variability was observed for question E20, regarding the subjective evaluation of the app: “What is your overall (star) rating of the app?” T0 mean 3.7 (SD: 0.8) vs T1 mean 3.6 (SD:1.0) p=0.089. The lower variability was observed in the Information Section for question D16 “Credibility of source: does the information within the app seem to come from a credible source? “, T0 mean 3.6 (SD:1.1) T1 mean 3.6 (SD: 1.1) p=1.000. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.945, as all patients answered to all questions. Each question was furtherly assessed through Pearson correlation coefficient, which demonstrated high reliability, with significant P (<0.05) and Pearson Coefficients higher than 0.7. Similarly, ICC, which was always higher than 0.750, confirmed an excellent test-rest reliability. CONCLUSIONS Our results allow the validation of uMARS in Italian language and it may become a reliable and useful tool to evaluate health app

A novel perimeter-based index for evaluating the similarity of structure contours

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-15
Author(s):  
King Hang Wicger Wong ◽  
Lucullus HT Leung ◽  
Dora LW Kwong
Keyword(s):  
Parotid Gland ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Roc Analysis ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Receiver Operating Curve ◽  
Pearson Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Computed Tomography Images ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Similarity Indices

AbstractIntroductionThe authors proposed a novel perimeter-based index (PBI) that was capable of evaluating the accuracy in the appraisal of auto-segmentation software. A quantitative value, that is time saved in editing the auto-segmented contours, was used to compare the effectiveness of two other commonly used indices in this study.MethodsThe relationship between the proposed index and the amount of the contouring time that could be saved was studied. The performances of two other commonly used similarity indices, namely Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and the modified normalised average Hausdorff distance (MNAHD), were also evaluated. Ten nasopharyngeal cases and ten prostate cases that were previously treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy technique were recruited as the validation cases in this study. Three observers were invited to contour four structures (bladder, rectum, brain stem and parotid gland) on computed tomography images of the validation cases without any aids. The time taken for contouring was recorded as the manual contouring time. By using an atlas-based auto-segmentation software, three sets of contours were generated for each validation case with different library sizes to produce different degrees of similarity level. The values of the three similarity indices of the auto-segmented contours were calculated. The observers were asked to edit the auto-segmented contours and the editing time was recorded.The correlation between the editing time and the similarity indices was studied. The amount of time saved was calculated by subtracting the editing time from the manual contouring time. The performances of PBI, DSC and MNAHD were evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficient and receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis.ResultsThe PBI showed a positive linear relationship with the amount of contouring time saved. Pearson correlation coefficient ranged from 0·73 to 0·86 for the four structures. The PBI had a stronger correlation than the DSC in bladder and parotid gland, while there was no significant difference between the two indices in rectum and brain stem. The MNAHD had an inferior correlation than the proposed index. For the ROC analysis, the cut-off values for the PBI were 0·549, 0·401 and 0·301 for the three levels of contouring time saved, namely 50, 25 and 0%, respectively. The accuracy of PBI was over 77% and the Youden index was >0·6 for all three levels.ConclusionsThe proposed index showed a stronger relationship to the amount of contouring time saved. It was a simple tool that could be used to evaluate the performance of different segmentation algorithms.

scholarly journals What are Users Across Different Age Groups Talking About Drugs on Reddit? (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiudan Li ◽  
Can Wang ◽  
Hejing Liu ◽  
Daniel Dajun Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Drug Abuse ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Behavior Patterns ◽  
Pearson Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Drug Usage ◽  
Addictive Drugs

BACKGROUND Drug abuse is a severe challenge for the United States. Social media such as Reddit has become one of the most efficient platforms for drug users to share experiences and communicate with each other. By analyzing users’ perceptions and behavior patterns concerning causes and symptoms of drug usage on social media, public health researchers and agencies can have innovative real time situational awareness and surveillance capabilities to tackle the drug abuse crisis. OBJECTIVE This paper aims to develop a social media-based approach to analyze users’ causes and symptoms of drug usage across different age groups, then deeply gain insights into users’ behavior pattern. METHODS We collected 163,610 posts on the Reddit /r/drugs community from February 2008 to December 2017. Firstly, topics for drugs, causes, and symptoms based on word vector learning (word2vec) were extracted. Then, we designed a method to automatically extract age information from posts. Finally, the relationships between age and drugs, causes, and symptoms were established. RESULTS We found that: (1) Drug topics contained 6 categories including alcoholic, tobaccos, prescriptions, hallucinogens, ecstasies, and other highly addictive drugs. Tobaccos (n=11,947), hallucinogens (n=9244), and other highly addictive drugs (n=5733) were the most discussed drug categories. (2) 9646 (65% of the total posts that had age information) posts on Reddit were sent by users between 15 and 25 years old. There was relevance between age and drug addiction. People tended to change their drug usage from a primary drug (e.g. marijuana) to other highly addictive drugs (e.g. heroin) as they aged. The age groups age<15 and 15<=age<20, 20<=age<25 had very similar drug topic patterns, where the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) between age<15 and 15<=age<20 is .994 (P<.001), the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) between age<15 and 20<=age<25 is .985 (P<.001). Similar phenomena were also obtained for age groups 20<=age<25 and 25<=age<30, where the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) is .989 (P <.001). (3)The reasons users take different types of drugs can be classified as curious, anxious and pain. The most frequently mentioned cause is curiosity about a novel experience (1215, 1215/1848), which may due to the characteristics of young users. For the curiosity cause, the ratios of posts discussing tobaccos and hallucinogens were 0.5045 (613/1215) and 0.3975 (483/1215) respectively. (4)The symptoms caused by taking drugs can be classified into 6 topics, including hallucination, comfort, lose_contorl, affect_brain, anxious and pain. Anxiety was the most popular symptom mentioned among the posts (574, 574/1096). The number of posts reporting anxious symptom caused by drugs is a little larger than that of posts discussing curing anxiety by drugs (n=558). CONCLUSIONS This is the first study aimed at deeply gaining insights into users’ behavior patterns, which can help public health researchers and agencies provide personalized health regulatory services for people at different ages.

Relationship between Invasive and Non-Invasive Hemodynamic Measures in Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-53
Author(s):  
Vicente Benavides-Córdoba ◽  
Mauricio Palacios Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Pulmonary Hypertension ◽  
Ejection Fraction ◽  
Right Ventricle ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Systolic Pressure ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Pearson Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Non Invasive

Introduction: Animal models have been used to understand the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension, to describe the mechanisms of action and to evaluate promising active ingredients. The monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension model is the most used animal model. In this model, invasive and non-invasive hemodynamic variables that resemble human measurements have been used. Aim: To define if non-invasive variables can predict hemodynamic measures in the monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension model. Materials and Methods: Twenty 6-week old male Wistar rats weighing between 250-300g from the bioterium of the Universidad del Valle (Cali - Colombia) were used in order to establish that the relationships between invasive and non-invasive variables are sustained in different conditions (healthy, hypertrophy and treated). The animals were organized into three groups, a control group who was given 0.9% saline solution subcutaneously (sc), a group with pulmonary hypertension induced with a single subcutaneous dose of Monocrotaline 30 mg/kg, and a group with pulmonary hypertension with 30 mg/kg of monocrotaline treated with Sildenafil. Right ventricle ejection fraction, heart rate, right ventricle systolic pressure and the extent of hypertrophy were measured. The functional relation between any two variables was evaluated by the Pearson correlation coefficient. Results: It was found that all correlations were statistically significant (p <0.01). The strongest correlation was the inverse one between the RVEF and the Fulton index (r = -0.82). The Fulton index also had a strong correlation with the RVSP (r = 0.79). The Pearson correlation coefficient between the RVEF and the RVSP was -0.81, meaning that the higher the systolic pressure in the right ventricle, the lower the ejection fraction value. Heart rate was significantly correlated to the other three variables studied, although with relatively low correlation. Conclusion: The correlations obtained in this study indicate that the parameters evaluated in the research related to experimental pulmonary hypertension correlate adequately and that the measurements that are currently made are adequate and consistent with each other, that is, they have good predictive capacity.

scholarly journals Bed-Based Ballistocardiography: Dataset and Ability to Track Cardiovascular Parameters

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 156
Author(s):  
Charles Carlson ◽  
Vanessa-Rose Turpin ◽  
Ahmad Suliman ◽  
Carl Ade ◽  
Steve Warren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Pressure ◽  
Stroke Volume ◽  
Systolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
Pearson Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Medical Systems ◽  
Cardiovascular Parameters

Background: The goal of this work was to create a sharable dataset of heart-driven signals, including ballistocardiograms (BCGs) and time-aligned electrocardiograms (ECGs), photoplethysmograms (PPGs), and blood pressure waveforms. Methods: A custom, bed-based ballistocardiographic system is described in detail. Affiliated cardiopulmonary signals are acquired using a GE Datex CardioCap 5 patient monitor (which collects ECG and PPG data) and a Finapres Medical Systems Finometer PRO (which provides continuous reconstructed brachial artery pressure waveforms and derived cardiovascular parameters). Results: Data were collected from 40 participants, 4 of whom had been or were currently diagnosed with a heart condition at the time they enrolled in the study. An investigation revealed that features extracted from a BCG could be used to track changes in systolic blood pressure (Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.54 +/− 0.15), dP/dtmax (Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.51 +/− 0.18), and stroke volume (Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.54 +/− 0.17). Conclusion: A collection of synchronized, heart-driven signals, including BCGs, ECGs, PPGs, and blood pressure waveforms, was acquired and made publicly available. An initial study indicated that bed-based ballistocardiography can be used to track beat-to-beat changes in systolic blood pressure and stroke volume. Significance: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other database that includes time-aligned ECG, PPG, BCG, and continuous blood pressure data is available to the public. This dataset could be used by other researchers for algorithm testing and development in this fast-growing field of health assessment, without requiring these individuals to invest considerable time and resources into hardware development and data collection.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Dissimilarities of EDI and SPI Measures for Drought Determination in South Africa

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Omolola M. Adisa ◽  
Muthoni Masinde ◽  
Joel O. Botai
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Drought Monitoring ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Pearson Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Drought Duration

This study examines the (dis)similarity of two commonly used indices Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) computed over accumulation periods 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, and 12-month (hereafter SPI-1, SPI-3, SPI-6, and SPI-12, respectively) and Effective Drought Index (EDI). The analysis is based on two drought monitoring indicators (derived from SPI and EDI), namely, the Drought Duration (DD) and Drought Severity (DS) across the 93 South African Weather Service’s delineated rainfall districts over South Africa from 1980 to 2019. In the study, the Pearson correlation coefficient dissimilarity and periodogram dissimilarity estimates were used. The results indicate a positive correlation for the Pearson correlation coefficient dissimilarity and a positive value for periodogram of dissimilarity in both the DD and DS. With the Pearson correlation coefficient dissimilarity, the study demonstrates that the values of the SPI-1/EDI pair and the SPI-3/EDI pair exhibit the highest similar values for DD, while the SPI-6/EDI pair shows the highest similar values for DS. Moreover, dissimilarities are more obvious in SPI-12/EDI pair for DD and DS. When a periodogram of dissimilarity is used, the values of the SPI-1/EDI pair and SPI-6/EDI pair exhibit the highest similar values for DD, while SPI-1/EDI displayed the highest similar values for DS. Overall, the two measures show that the highest similarity is obtained in the SPI-1/EDI pair for DS. The results obtainable in this study contribute towards an in-depth knowledge of deviation between the EDI and SPI values for South Africa, depicting that these two drought indices values are replaceable in some rainfall districts of South Africa for drought monitoring and prediction, and this is a step towards the selection of the appropriate drought indices.

Measurement of Calcaneal Angles and Its Clinical Significance in Han Chinese Adults in Northwest China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianghui Dong ◽  
ZhanKui Jin ◽  
ZhengMing Sun ◽  
Jing Chen ◽  
YanHai Chang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Han Chinese ◽  
Radiology Department ◽  
Reference Ranges ◽  
Chinese Adults ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Plain Radiographs ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Ankle Joints

Abstract Objective We aimed to investigate differences in and trends of normal calcaneal angles among Han Chinese adults from different age groups to establish normal reference ranges of calcaneal angles in these age groups, thereby providing a theoretical basis and morphological reference for the treatment of calcaneal fractures. Methods We collected lateral plain radiographs (X-ray) of the normal ankle joints of 6,260 Han Chinese adults who visited the Radiology Department of Shaanxi Provincial People’s Hospital between November 2008 and December 2020 to measure the calcaneal angles, including the Böhler angle (BA), Gissane angle (GA), calcaneal pitch angle (CPA), posterior facet inclination angle (PFIA), and calcaneal-tibial angle (CTA). On this basis, we analyzed the calcaneal angles in different age groups to summarize the characteristics of normal calcaneal angles in Han Chinese adults. Results According to the lateral plain radiographs of the normal ankle joints of 6,260 (male: 3,380; female: 2,880) adults (mean age: 46.3 ± 18.2 ), the mean values of the BA, GA, CPA, PFIA, and CTA were 33.17° ± 6.08°, 114.99° ± 8.17°, 25.67° ± 4.72°, 64.35° ± 8.51°, and 91.59° ± 11.57°, respectively. Results of the Pearson correlation analysis suggested negative correlations between age and both BA and PFIA (P < 0.01, respectively) but a lack of correlation between age and the GA, CPA or CTA (P > 0.05, respectively). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the least significant difference (LSD) test showed that at above the age of 18, there were statistically significant differences both in the BA between different age groups and in the PFIA between different age groups above 41 years old. Conclusion In Han Chinese adults, there are significant differences in BA and PFIA between different age groups, with these calcaneal angles exhibiting a trend of decrease with age.

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