scholarly journals Concurrent and Convergent Validity of a Single, Brief Question for Physical Activity Assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Moreno-Llamas ◽  
Jesús García-Mayor ◽  
Ernesto De la Cruz-Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Classification Performance ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Operating Characteristics ◽  
Time Saving ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity

An extensive number of self-reported methods for physical activity (PA) measurement are available, including short and long recall questionnaires ranging from a few to tens of questions. Due to the fact that simple, time-saving methods could be more practical and desirable for use in a busy clinical context, as well as in public health surveys, we evaluated how a single-item question might be a useful and cost-effective method for assessing compliance with PA guidelines. Using multiple receiver operating characteristics (ROC), we assessed the classification performance of a single brief question, employing the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire as criterion instrument, in a total of 55,950 people (30,601 women and 25,349 men). Both those who practice PA almost daily and a few times a week presented an upper threshold (1042.5 metabolic equivalent minutes (MET) minutes/week) to the established compliance PA guidelines (600 MET minutes/week) with high specificity and sensitivity, using a sedentary group as reference. Otherwise, the occasionally physically active group did not reach the minimum (349.5 MET minutes/week) and obtained a poorer classification performance. A single brief question is a pragmatic and alternative method for assessment of compliance with PA guidelines.

scholarly journals Respiratory Tularemia: Francisella Tularensis and Microarray Probe Designing

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 176-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Ranjbar ◽  
Payam Behzadi ◽  
Caterina Mammina
Keyword(s):  
Dna Microarray ◽  
Francisella Tularensis ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Molecular Diagnostic ◽  
Microarray Technology ◽  
Microarray Probe ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Oligo Microarray

Background:Francisella tularensis(F. tularensis) is the etiological microorganism for tularemia. There are different forms of tularemia such as respiratory tularemia. Respiratory tularemia is the most severe form of tularemia with a high rate of mortality; if not treated. Therefore, traditional microbiological tools and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) are not useful for a rapid, reliable, accurate, sensitive and specific diagnosis. But, DNA microarray technology does. DNA microarray technology needs to appropriate microarray probe designing.Objective:The main goal of this original article was to design suitable long oligo microarray probes for detection and identification ofF. tularensis.Method:For performing this research, the complete genomes ofF. tularensissubsp.tularensisFSC198,F. tularensissubsp.holarcticaLVS,F. tularensissubsp.mediasiatica,F. tularensissubsp.novicida(F. novicidaU112), andF. philomiragiasubsp.philomiragiaATCC 25017 were studiedviaNCBI BLAST tool, GView and PanSeq Servers and finally the microarray probes were produced and processedviaAlleleID 7.7 software and Oligoanalyzer tool, respectively.Results:In thisin silicoinvestigation, a number of long oligo microarray probes were designed for detecting and identifyingF. tularensis. Among these probes, 15 probes were recognized as the best candidates for microarray chip designing.Conclusion:Calibrated microarray probes reduce the biasis of DNA microarray technology as an advanced, rapid, accurate and cost-effective molecular diagnostic tool with high specificity and sensitivity. Professional microarray probe designing provides us with much more facility and flexibility regarding preparation of a microarray diagnostic chip.

scholarly journals The Use of Biomarkers in Early Diagnostics of Pancreatic Cancer

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lumir Kunovsky ◽  
Pavla Tesarikova ◽  
Zdenek Kala ◽  
Radek Kroupa ◽  
Petr Kysela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radical Surgery ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Locally Advanced ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Ductal Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Solid Malignancies ◽  
Late Detection ◽  
Resistance To Chemotherapy

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal solid malignancies with increasing incidence. The poor prognosis is due to the aggressive nature of the tumor, late detection, and the resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. A radical surgery procedure is the only treatment that has been shown to improve the 5-year survival rate to 20-25%. However, the majority of patients (80-85%) are diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic disease and just 15-20% patients are diagnosed in an early stage allowing them to undergo the potentially curative surgical resection. The early detection of PDAC without the use of invasive methods is challenging and discovery of a cost-effective biomarker with high specificity and sensitivity could significantly improve the treatment and survival in these patients. In this review, we summarize current and newly examined biomarkers in early PDAC detection.

scholarly journals Correlation of fine needle aspiration cytology and histopathology of neck swellings

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 648
Author(s):  
C. S. Asha ◽  
B. R. Suchit Roy
Keyword(s):  
Salivary Gland ◽  
Lymph Node ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Invasive Procedure ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Needle Aspiration ◽  
Predictive Values ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> Neck swellings are a common clinical finding affecting all age groups. FNAC is a minimally invasive procedure helpful in the diagnosis of various neck swellings. The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of FNAC in the diagnosis of neck swellings by comparing it with the histopathology which is taken as the gold standard.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> A prospective study which included 90 patients who attended ENT and surgery departments of Government Medical College, Trivandrum with neck swellings from July 2006-2007. FNAC of the swelling was done and the FNAC results were compared with the histopathology results. The specificity, sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy of FNAC were calculated.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Of the 90 patients, thyroid swelling formed the major group followed by lymph node, salivary gland and miscellaneous swellings. Thyroid swellings had a female predominance while the other three groups namely lymph node, salivary gland and miscellaneous groups showed a male preponderance. When the neck swellings namely thyroid, salivary gland, lymph node and miscellaneous group were taken into consideration as a whole, the sensitivity of FNAC for detecting malignancy was 64.3%. The specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were 97.4%, 81.8%, 93.7% and 92% respectively.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions:</strong> FNAC can be rated as a safe, simple, reliable, cost effective and rapid diagnostic tool with high specificity and sensitivity for the initial evaluation of neck swellings.</p>

Impact of Outdoor Gyms on Adults’ Participation in Physical Activity: A Natural Experiment in Chile

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
María J. Oliveros ◽  
Pamela Serón ◽  
Fernando Lanas ◽  
Shrikant I. Bangdiwala
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
World Health ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Physical Activity Recommendations ◽  
Urban Adults ◽  
Time Varying Covariates

Background: Although low levels of physical activity have slightly decreased globally, the need to reverse the physical inactivity remains urgent. One approach has been the installation of outdoor gyms (OGs). Method: A natural experiment arose from the installation of OGs in different neighborhoods of the city of Temuco, Chile. Baseline measurements were collected between 2006 and 2017 in a cohort of adults participating in the Prospective Urban & Rural Epidemiology study. Physical activity was assessed with the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and time-varying covariates was assessed every 3 years. The multistage hierarchical, nested sampling process and the follow-up assessments led to data correlated at different levels, thus the authors analyzed the data using a logistic multilevel model. Result: 2463 urban adults from 16 neighborhoods, with an average age of 51.7 (9.8) years (67% female), were included. Having an adequate number of OGs improved the odds of complying with the World Health Organization’s recommendations (adjusted odds ratio = 4.64, 3.95–5.45). In addition, being male (odds ratio = 1.53, 1.32–1.77) and under the age of 60 years (odds ratio = 0.83, 0.71–0.97) were associated with being physically active. Conclusion: The presence of more OGs can have a positive impact on physical activity recommendations.

scholarly journals Glycoprotein- and Lectin-Based Approaches for Detection of Pathogens

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 694
Author(s):  
Sammer-ul Hassan ◽  
Ahmed Donia ◽  
Usman Sial ◽  
Xunli Zhang ◽  
Habib Bokhari
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Point Of Use ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity

Infectious diseases alone are estimated to result in approximately 40% of the 50 million total annual deaths globally. The importance of basic research in the control of emerging and re-emerging diseases cannot be overemphasized. However, new nanotechnology-based methodologies exploiting unique surface-located glycoproteins or their patterns can be exploited to detect pathogens at the point of use or on-site with high specificity and sensitivity. These technologies will, therefore, affect our ability in the future to more accurately assess risk. The critical challenge is making these new methodologies cost-effective, as well as simple to use, for the diagnostics industry and public healthcare providers. Miniaturization of biochemical assays in lab-on-a-chip devices has emerged as a promising tool. Miniaturization has the potential to shape modern biotechnology and how point-of-care testing of infectious diseases will be performed by developing smart microdevices that require minute amounts of sample and reagents and are cost-effective, robust, and sensitive and specific. The current review provides a short overview of some of the futuristic approaches using simple molecular interactions between glycoproteins and glycoprotein-binding molecules for the efficient and rapid detection of various pathogens at the point of use, advancing the emerging field of glyconanodiagnostics.

scholarly journals A short-form version of the Boston Naming Test for language screening in dementia in a bilingual rural community in Galicia (Spain)

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Nebreda ◽  
A. García-Caballero ◽  
E. Asensio ◽  
P. Revilla ◽  
M. Rodriguez-Girondo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Roc Curves ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Operating Characteristics ◽  
Boston Naming Test ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Short Versions ◽  
Clinic Group ◽  
Naming Test

ABSTRACTBackground: Aphasia, one of the core symptoms of cortical dementia, is routinely evaluated using graded naming tests like the Boston Naming Test (BNT). However, the application of this 60-item test is time-consuming and shortened versions have been devised for screening. The hypothesis of this research is that a specifically designed shortened version of the BNT could replace the original 60-item BNT as part of a mini-battery for screening for dementia. The objective of this study was to design a short version of the BNT for a rural population in Galicia (Spain).Methods: A clinic group of 102 patients including 43 with dementia was recruited along with 78 healthy volunteers. The clinic and control groups were scored on the Spanish version of the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) and BNT. In addition, the clinic group was tested with standard neuropsychological instruments and underwent brain investigations and routine neurological examination. BNT items with specificity and sensitivity above 0.5 were selected to compose a short battery of 11 pictures named BNTOu11. ANOVA and mean comparisons were made for MMSE and BNT versions. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves and internal consistency were calculated.Results: Areas under ROC curves (AUC) did not show statistically significant differences; therefore BNTOu11's AUC (0.814) was similar to the 60-item BNT versions (0.785 and 0.779), to the short versions from Argentina (0.772) and Andalusia (0.799) and to the Spanish MMSE (0.866). BNTOu11 had higher internal consistency than the other short versions.Conclusions: BNTOu11 is a useful and time-saving method as part of a battery for screening for dementia in a psychogeriatric outpatient unit.

scholarly journals mRBioM: An Algorithm for the Identification of Potential mRNA Biomarkers From Complete Transcriptomic Profiles of Gastric Adenocarcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changlong Dong ◽  
Nini Rao ◽  
Wenju Du ◽  
Fenglin Gao ◽  
Xiaoqin Lv ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gastric Cancer ◽  
Gastric Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Colon Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Interaction Network ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Classification Performance ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Total Information ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity ◽  
Information Amount

PurposeIn this work, an algorithm named mRBioM was developed for the identification of potential mRNA biomarkers (PmBs) from complete transcriptomic RNA profiles of gastric adenocarcinoma (GA).MethodsmRBioM initially extracts differentially expressed (DE) RNAs (mRNAs, miRNAs, and lncRNAs). Next, mRBioM calculates the total information amount of each DE mRNA based on the coexpression network, including three types of RNAs and the protein-protein interaction network encoded by DE mRNAs. Finally, PmBs were identified according to the variation trend of total information amount of all DE mRNAs. Four PmB-based classifiers without learning and with learning were designed to discriminate the sample types to confirm the reliability of PmBs identified by mRBioM. PmB-based survival analysis was performed. Finally, three other cancer datasets were used to confirm the generalization ability of mRBioM.ResultsmRBioM identified 55 PmBs (41 upregulated and 14 downregulated) related to GA. The list included thirteen PmBs that have been verified as biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets of gastric cancer, and some PmBs were newly identified. Most PmBs were primarily enriched in the pathways closely related to the occurrence and development of gastric cancer. Cancer-related factors without learning achieved sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 0.90, 1, and 0.90, respectively, in the classification of the GA and control samples. Average accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the three classifiers with machine learning ranged within 0.94–0.98, 0.94–0.97, and 0.97–1, respectively. The prognostic risk score model constructed by 4 PmBs was able to correctly and significantly (∗∗∗p &lt; 0.001) classify 269 GA patients into the high-risk (n = 134) and low-risk (n = 135) groups. GA equivalent classification performance was achieved using the complete transcriptomic RNA profiles of colon adenocarcinoma, lung adenocarcinoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma using PmBs identified by mRBioM.ConclusionsGA-related PmBs have high specificity and sensitivity and strong prognostic risk prediction. MRBioM has also good generalization. These PmBs may have good application prospects for early diagnosis of GA and may help to elucidate the mechanism governing the occurrence and development of GA. Additionally, mRBioM is expected to be applied for the identification of other cancer-related biomarkers.

scholarly journals Highly Sensitive and Cost-Effective Portable Sensor for Early Gastric Carcinoma Diagnosis

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 2639
Author(s):  
Saw Lin Oo ◽  
Shishir Venkatesh ◽  
Vaithinathan Karthikeyan ◽  
Clement Manohar Arava ◽  
Spoorthy Pathikonda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gastric Carcinoma ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Electrical Current ◽  
Early Gastric Carcinoma ◽  
Rna Modification ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Cancer Antigen ◽  
Concentration Dependent Manner ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity

Facile and efficient early detection of cancer is a major challenge in healthcare. Herein we developed a novel sensor made from a polycarbonate (PC) membrane with nanopores, followed by sequence-specific Oligo RNA modification for early gastric carcinoma diagnosis. In this design, the gastric cancer antigen CA72-4 is specifically conjugated to the Oligo RNA, thereby inhibiting the electrical current through the PC membrane in a concentration-dependent manner. The device can determine the concentration of cancer antigen CA72-4 in the range from 4 to 14 U/mL, possessing a sensitivity of 7.029 µAU−1mLcm−2 with a linear regression (R2) of 0.965 and a lower detection limit of 4 U/mL. This device has integrated advantages including high specificity and sensitivity and being simple, portable, and cost effective, which collectively enables a giant leap for cancer screening technologies towards clinical use. This is the first report to use RNA aptamers to detect CA72-4 for gastric carcinoma diagnosis.

scholarly journals PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL IN ASTHMATIC ADOLESCENTS: CROSS-SECTIONAL POPULATION-BASED STUDY

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Aurélio de Valois Correia Junior ◽  
Emília Chagas Costa ◽  
Laienne Carla Barbosa de Barros ◽  
Andressa Araújo Soares ◽  
Emanuel Sávio Cavalcanti Sarinho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
International Study ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Asymptomatic Individuals

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the level of physical activity in asthmatics in comparison with non-asthmatics in a population study. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 13 to 14-year-old adolescents who participated in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC). The subjects were classified into three groups: individuals with active asthma, individuals diagnosed with asthma, and respiratory asymptomatic individuals. To evaluate the level of physical activity, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-short version) was used. The analysis consisted of comparing individuals with active asthma, diagnosed as asthmatic and asymptomatic, with a significance level of 5%. Results: The participants were 1,591 adolescents, of which 791 (49.7%) were male. There were 222 (14.0%) individuals with active asthma and 284 (17.8%) asthma diagnoses; 55% of the population were physically active. Adolescents diagnosed with asthma were more active than their non-asthmatic peers (64.4 versus 53.3%; p=0.001). Conclusions: Adolescents diagnosed with asthma were more physically active than their non-asthmatic peers.

scholarly journals Interfaces of Student Lifestyle and Perceived Stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (117) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daiva Vizbaraitė ◽  
Gintarė Stanionytė ◽  
Zbigniew Ossowsky
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Physically Active ◽  
Professional Career ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Life Scale

Background. It is becoming obvious that healthy lifestyle of students in higher education institutions is an important factor contributing to the duration of their professional career as well as for general health (Bolotin & Bakayev, 2015). High academic expectations increase tension and pose a threat to physical and mental health of students (Shamsuddin et al., 2013). During studies young people are more vulnerable to developing harmful habits, they do not follow proper nutrition, and do not look after their health (Tarejeva, Žagminas, & Serapinas, 2015), therefore, it is important to understand the association between lifestyle of a young person and daily perceived stress.Methods. The study included 155 students of the Lithuanian Sports University. In order to establish nutrition and harmful habits among students, the analysis of nutrition and harmful habits questionnaire was used. Physical activity of students was evaluated using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-LT). The analysis of stress was based on the questionnaire using the Stress in Academic Life Scale. The results were processed using methods of mathematical statistics. The statistical analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS software version 23.0.Results. Statistically significant difference of physical activity was determined between genders – females were more active than males (p < .05). The frequency of the consumption of breakfast, sweets, meat, beer, and wine statistically significantly differed between females and males (p < .05). Perceived stress of students was associated with physical activity, consumption of cereal grains, sweets, carbonated beverages, and smoking (p < .05).Conclusions. The majority of students were sufficiently physically active. Females more frequently had breakfast, consumed sweets, while males more frequently consumed meat. Regular breakfast consumption was reported by 88.6% of females and 73.1% of males. Males more frequently had intake of beer, while females – wine. Significant relationship between perceived stress and physical activity among students was determined in the study. Keywords: students, stress, nutrition, physical activity, harmful habits.

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