The Estimation of Critical Angle in Climbing as a Measure of Maximal Metabolic Steady State

Purpose: Sport climbing is a technical, self-paced sport, and the workload is highly variable and mainly localized to the forearm flexors. It has not proved effective to control intensity using measures typical of other sports, such as gas exchange thresholds, heart rate, or blood lactate. Therefore, the purposes of the study were to (1) determine the possibility of applying the mathematical model of critical power to the estimation of a critical angle (CA) as a measure of maximal metabolic steady state in climbing and (2) to compare this intensity with the muscle oxygenation breakpoint (MOB) determined during an exhaustive climbing task.Materials and Methods: Twenty-seven sport climbers undertook three to five exhaustive ascents on a motorized treadwall at differing angles to estimate CA, and one exhaustive climbing test with a progressive increase in angle to determine MOB, assessed using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).Results: Model fit for estimated CA was very high (R2 = 0.99; SEE = 1.1°). The mean peak angle during incremental test was −17 ± 5°, and CA from exhaustive trials was found at −2.5 ± 3.8°. Nine climbers performing the ascent 2° under CA were able to sustain the task for 20 min with perceived exertion at 12.1 ± 1.9 (RPE). However, climbing 2° above CA led to task failure after 15.9 ± 3.0 min with RPE = 16.4 ± 1.9. When MOB was plotted against estimated CA, good agreement was stated (ICC = 0.80, SEM = 1.5°).Conclusion: Climbers, coaches, and researchers may use a predefined route with three to five different wall angles to estimate CA as an analog of critical power to determine a maximal metabolic steady state in climbing. Moreover, a climbing test with progressive increases in wall angle using MOB also appears to provide a valid estimate of CA.

Comprehensive Contact Tracing, Testing and Sequencing Show Limited Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between Children in Schools in Norway, August 2020 to May 2021

The role of children in the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in schools has been a topic of controversy. In this study among school contacts of SARS-CoV-2 positive children in 43 contact-investigations, we investigated SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Norway, August 2020–May 2021. All participants were tested twice within seven to ten days, using SARS-CoV-2 PCR on home-sampled saliva. Positive samples were whole genome sequenced. Among the 559 child contacts, eight tested positive (1.4%, 95% CI 0.62–2.80), with no significant difference between primary (1.0%, 95% CI 0.27–2.53) and secondary schools (2.6%, 95% CI 0.70–6.39), p = 0.229, nor by viral strain, non-Alpha (1.4%, 95% CI 0.50–2.94) and Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) (1.7%, 95% CI 0.21–5.99), p = 0.665. One adult contact (1/100) tested positive. In 34 index cases, we detected 13 different SARS-CoV-2 Pango lineage variants, with B.1.1.7 being most frequent. In the eight contact-investigations with SARS-CoV-2 positive contacts, four had the same sequence identity as the index, one had no relation, and three were inconclusive. With mitigation measures in place, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 from children in schools is limited. By excluding contact-investigations with adult cases known at the time of enrolment, our data provide a valid estimate on the role of children in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in schools.

Introduction

This introduction offers an overview of our research approach, discusses the connection between sociology and climate research, and presents our two research aims. In substantive terms, we address the question of which behaviors are of climate relevance, who is engaging in these behaviors, in which contexts do these behaviors occur, and which individual perceptions and values are related to them. In terms of research methods, we focus on the measurement of climate-relevant behaviors using population surveys. Our goal in this regard is to develop an instrument that allows a valid estimate of an individual’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with as few questions as possible.

Definition of Outcome-Based Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Thresholds for Advanced Prostate Cancer Risk Prediction

We defined prostate-specific antigen (PSA) thresholds from a well calibrated risk prediction model for identifying and excluding advanced prostate cancer (PCa). We retrieved 902 biopsied patients with a pre-biopsy PSA determination (Roche assay). A logistic regression model predictive for PCa including the main effects [i.e., PSA, age, histological evidence of glandular inflammation (GI)] was built after testing the accuracy by calibration plots and Hosmer-Lemeshow test for goodness of fit. PSA thresholds were derived by assuming a diagnostic sensitivity of 95% (rule-out) and 80% (rule-in) for overall and advanced/poorly differentiated PCa. In patients without GI, serum PSA concentrations ≤ 4.1 (<65 years old) and ≤3.7 μg/L (≥65 years old) excluded an advanced PCa (defined as Gleason score ≥ 7 at biopsy), with a negative predictive value of 95.1% [95% confidence interval (CI): 83.0–98.7] and 88.8% (CI: 80.2–93.9), respectively, while PSA > 5.7 (<65) and >6.1 μg/L (≥65) should address biopsy referral. In presence of GI, PSA did not provide a valid estimate for risk of advanced cancer because of its higher variability and the low pre-test probability of PCa. The proposed PSA thresholds may support biopsy decision except for patients with asymptomatic prostatitis who cannot be pre-biopsy identified.

Estimating Breakup Frequencies in Industrial Emulsification Devices: The Challenge of Inferring Local Frequencies from Global Methods

Experimental methods to study the breakup frequency in industrial devices are increasingly important. Since industrial production-scale devices are often inaccessible to single-drop experiments, breakup frequencies for these devices can only be studied with “global methods”; i.e., breakup frequency estimated from analyzing emulsification-experiment data. However, how much can be said about the local breakup frequencies (e.g., needed in modelling) from these global estimates? This question is discussed based on insights from a numerical validation procedure where set local frequencies are compared to global estimates. It is concluded that the global methods provide a valid estimate of local frequencies as long as the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy is fairly homogenous throughout the device (although a residence-time-correction, suggested in this contribution, is needed as long as the flow is not uniform in the device). For the more realistic case of an inhomogeneous breakup frequency, the global estimate underestimates the local frequency (at the volume-averaged dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy). However, the relative error between local frequencies and global estimates is approximately constant when comparing between conditions. This suggest that the global methods are still valuable for studying how local breakup frequencies scale across operating conditions, geometries and fluid properties.

Comparison of observation-based and model-based identification of alert concentrations from concentration–expression data

Motivation An important goal of concentration–response studies in toxicology is to determine an ‘alert’ concentration where a critical level of the response variable is exceeded. In a classical observation-based approach, only measured concentrations are considered as potential alert concentrations. Alternatively, a parametric curve is fitted to the data that describes the relationship between concentration and response. For a prespecified effect level, both an absolute estimate of the alert concentration and an estimate of the lowest concentration where the effect level is exceeded significantly are of interest. Results In a simulation study for gene expression data, we compared the observation-based and the model-based approach for both absolute and significant exceedance of the prespecified effect level. Results show that, compared to the observation-based approach, the model-based approach overestimates the true alert concentration less often and more frequently leads to a valid estimate, especially for genes with large variance. Availability and implementation The code used for the simulation studies is available via the GitHub repository: https://github.com/FKappenberg/Paper-IdentificationAlertConcentrations. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

An evaluation of the Hear Glue Ear mobile application for children aged 2–8 years old with otitis media with effusion

Objectives To evaluate the acceptability and usability of the Hear Glue Ear mobile application to guide families and support speech and language development in children with otitis media with effusion (OME). To assess the validity of the app’s game-based hearing test to estimate changes in hearing levels between audiology appointments. Method This evaluation examined 60 children aged 2–8 with and without OME, attending Cambridge Community Audiology clinics. Children’s performance in the app’s hearing test was compared to their pure tone average (PTA) obtained in clinic. Children and caregivers completed questionnaires after their first interaction with the app, and after one week of using it at home. 18 clinicians completed anonymous questionnaires after trialling the app. Results Results from the app’s hearing test show a significant correlation with clinic PTA values ([Formula: see text]). 73.1% of caregivers supported their child using the app regularly and 85% thought it enabled them to give more accurate reports to clinicians. After one week, 87.0% of families downloaded and used the app at home, and 85.7% of these felt it provided strategies to help their child. 100% of children liked the app and 93.3% found it easy to use. 77.8% of clinicians supported patients using the app regularly. Conclusions Hear Glue Ear is acceptable to children, caregivers and clinicians as part of OME management. The app’s hearing test provides a valid estimate of fluctuating hearing levels. Hear Glue Ear is a free, accessible and family-centred intervention to provide trusted information and support development, as NICE guidance recommends.

Clinically-Feasible Brain Morphometric Similarity Network Construction Approaches with Restricted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Acquisitions and their Relationship with Cognition

Morphometric Similarity Networks (MSNs) estimate structural 'connectivity' as a biologically meaningful set of statistical similarities between cyto-architectural features derived in-vivo from multiple MRI sequences. These networks have shown to be clinically relevant, predicting 40% variance in IQ. However, the sequences required (T1w and T2w 3D anatomical, DWI) to produce these networks typically have long acquisition times, which are less feasible in some populations. Thus, estimating MSNs using features from only a T1w MRI is attractive to both clinical and developmental neuroscience. We aimed to determine whether reduced-feature approaches approximate the original MSN model as a potential tool to investigate brain structure. Using Human Connectome Project data, we extended previous investigations of reduced-feature MSNs by comparing not only T1w-derived networks but additional MSNs generated with fewer MR sequences to their full acquisition counterparts. We produce MSNs which are highly similar at the edge-level, to those generated with multi-modal imaging. We also find that, regardless of the number of features, these networks have limited predictive validity of generalised cognitive ability scores in contrast to previous research. Overall, settings in which multi-modal imaging is not available or clinically/developmentally appropriate, T1w-restricted MSN construction provides a valid estimate of the MSN.

A-83 The Applicability of the Word Accentuation Test (WAT) in a Diverse Spanish Speaking Population: A Pilot Study

Objective A valid estimate of premorbid ability (PA) is important when attempting to identify cognitive decline. Measures of PA in English have been widely validated, but there is a lack of PA instruments for Spanish speakers. The findings of a pilot study assessing the feasibility of using the Word Accentuation Test (WAT) as a PA measure in a diverse, traditionally underserved, Spanish speaking population are described. Method The WAT was administered as part of comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations and neurobehavioral status exams (NBSE) completed with Spanish speaking patients at Montefiore Medical Center (MMC) in a 6-month period. Sixty-one patients completed the WAT- 12 as part of comprehensive testing (mean age 60 (SD 11.05) range 43-80, 67% female) and 49 during NBSEs within the context of multidisciplinary memory disorders clinics (mean age 74.35 (SD 8.60) range 51-93, 80% female). T-tests and correlations with WAT performances were completed. Results Overall, our population correctly read an average of 19.67 (SD 7.61) words. There was no statistical difference by gender or age, but years of education predicted WAT performance (p = .004). For those individuals who had comprehensive cognitive evaluations, WAT scores were correlated with performance on the vocabulary subtest of the EIWA-III (p = .003). All patients without severe dementia were able to complete the task. Conclusions Analysis of pilot data from our diverse Spanish population demonstrated that the WAT is an PA appropriate task that appears to have good correlation with years of education and vocabulary performance. Additional research is necessary to validate the measure in this cohort and other cohorts.

New 20 m Progressive Shuttle Test Protocol and Equation for Predicting the Maximal Oxygen Uptake of Korean Adolescents Aged 13–18 Years

Background: Although several equations for predicting VO2max in children and adolescents have been reported, the validity of application of these equations to the Korean population has not been verified. The purpose of study was to develop and validate regression models to estimate maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) using a newly developed 20 m progressive shuttle test (20 m PST) protocol in Korean male (n = 80, 15.3 ± 1.86 years) and female (n = 81, 15.5 ± 1.73 years) adolescents aged 13–18 years. Methods: The modified 20 m PST was performed and the VO2max was assessed in a sample of 161 participants. The participants underwent a treadmill test (TT) in the laboratory and the modified 20 m PST in a gymnasium. For the validation study, the participants performed the TT with a stationary metabolic cart and the 20 m PST with a portable metabolic cart once. In addition, they performed the 20 m PST two more times to establish test–retest reliability. Results: The mean VO2max (49.6 ± 8.7 mL·kg−1·min−1) measured with the potable metabolic cart was significantly higher than that measured in the graded exercise test with the stationary metabolic cart (46.6 ± 8.9 mL·kg−1·min−1, p < 0.001) using the new 20 m PST protocol. The standard error of the estimate (SEE) between these two measurements was 1.35 mL·kg−1·min−1. However, the VO2max derived from the newly developed equation was 46.7 ± 7.3 mL·kg−1·min−1 (p > 0.05) and the SEE was 2.90 mL·kg−1·min−1. The test and retest trials of the 20 m PST yielded comparable results (laps, r = 0.96; last speed, r = 0.93). Conclusions: Our data suggest that the new 20 m PST protocol is valid and reliable and that the equation developed in this study provides a valid estimate of VO2max in Korean male and female adolescents aged 13–18 years.