Validation of machine learning angiography-derived physiological pattern of coronary artery disease.

Aims: The classification of physiological patterns of coronary artery disease (CAD) is crucial for clinical decision-making, significantly affecting the planning and success of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs). This study aimed to develop a novel index to reliably interpret and classify physiological CAD patterns based on virtual pullbacks from single-view Murray's law-based quantitative flow ratio (μFR) analysis.

Methods And Results: The pullback pressure gradient index (PPGi) was used to classify CAD patterns, with a cut-off value of PPGi = 0.

Determinants of Intravenous Infusion Longevity and Infusion Failure via a Nonlinear Model Analysis of Smart Pump Event Logs: Retrospective Study.

Background: Infusion failure may have severe consequences for patients receiving critical, short-half-life infusions. Continued interruptions to infusions can lead to subtherapeutic therapy.

Objective: This study aims to identify and rank determinants of the longevity of continuous infusions administered through syringe drivers, using nonlinear predictive models.

Words and numbers: a comparative study of medical and journalism students' descriptors of risk, numeracy and preferences for health risk communication.

Background: Given the complementary roles of health professionals and journalists in communicating health risks to patients and the public, there have been calls for physicians to work with journalists to improve the quality of health information received by the public. Understanding the preferences of medical and journalism students for the way in which health risks are communicated and their understanding of words used to describe risk is an important first step to inform interdisciplinary learning.

Methods: Medical and journalism students (n = 203) completed an online survey where they were given qualitative descriptors of risk such as 'a chance', 'probably' and 'unlikely', and asked to assign a number that represents what the word means to them.

Identification of monoclonal antibody drug substances using non-destructive Raman spectroscopy.

Monoclonal antibodies provide highly specific and effective therapies for the treatment of chronic diseases. These protein-based therapeutics, or drug substances, are transported in single used plastic packaging to fill finish sites. According to good manufacturing practice guidelines, each drug substance needs to be identified before manufacturing of the drug product.

Calibrating COVID-19 susceptible-exposed-infected-removed models with time-varying effectivecontact rates.

We describe the population-based susceptible-exposed-infected-removed (SEIR) model developed by the Irish Epidemiological Modelling Advisory Group (IEMAG), which advises the Irish government on COVID-19 responses. The model assumes a time-varying effective contact rate (equivalently, a time-varying reproduction number) to model the effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions. A crucial technical challenge in applying such models is their accurate calibration to observed data, e.

Identifying the gaps in Irish cancer care: Patient, public and providers' perspectives.

Background: The University of Limerick Cancer network (ULCaN) was established in 2019 with funding from the Health Research Institute at the University of Limerick in order to build a network between individuals in academia, primary and secondary care and the general public so that cancer services can be coordinated and more effective. The aim of this paper is to outline our experience of engaging with stakeholders to identify gaps in the cancer journey locally.

Methods: Four focus group discussions were conducted with patients; their carers; members of the public; and healthcare providers with 2 main aims: 1) to investigate gaps in cancer services; 2) to identify knowledge, attitudes and opportunities available to promote cancer research.

Understanding the Challenges and Uncertainties of Seroprevalence Studies for SARS-CoV-2.

SARS-CoV-2 continues to widely circulate in populations globally. Underdetection is acknowledged and is problematic when attempting to capture the true prevalence. Seroprevalence studies, where blood samples from a population sample are tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies that react to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, are a common method for estimating the proportion of people previously infected with the virus in a given population.

PCA of waveforms and functional PCA: A primer for biomechanics.

Principal components analysis (PCA) of waveforms and functional PCA (fPCA) are statistical approaches used to explore patterns of variability in biomechanical curve data, with fPCA being an accepted statistical method grounded within the functional data analysis (FDA) statistical framework. This technical note demonstrates that PCA of waveforms is the most rudimentary form of FDA, and consequently can be rationalised within the FDA framework of statistical processes. Mathematical proofing applied demonstrations of both techniques, and an example of when fPCA may be of greater benefit to control over smoothing of functional principal components is provided using an open access motion sickness dataset.

Cognitive functional therapy compared with a group-based exercise and education intervention for chronic low back pain: a multicentre randomised controlled trial (RCT).

Background: One-size-fits-all interventions reduce chronic low back pain (CLBP) a small amount. An individualised intervention called cognitive functional therapy (CFT) was superior for CLBP compared with manual therapy and exercise in one randomised controlled trial (RCT). However, systematic reviews show group interventions are as effective as one-to-one interventions for musculoskeletal pain.

Dance exposure, general health, sleep and injury in elite adolescent Irish dancers: A prospective study.

Objectives: To investigate dance exposure, sleep, general health and injury in elite adolescent Irish dancers.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Six Irish dance schools in Ireland.

Pain and Injury in Elite Adolescent Irish Dancers: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Dance is an extremely popular activity among adolescents and has a range of associated physical and psychological health benefits. However, pain and injury in young elite dancers is pervasive, and the underlying risk factors are poorly understood. This study investigated the incidence of pain and injury in elite adolescent Irish dancers and examined a range of potentially associated biopsychosocial risk factors.

A force profile analysis comparison between functional data analysis, statistical parametric mapping and statistical non-parametric mapping in on-water single sculling.

Objectives: To examine whether the Functional Data Analysis (FDA), Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) and Statistical non-Parametric Mapping (SnPM) hypothesis testing techniques differ in their ability to draw inferences in the context of a single, simple experimental design.

Design: The sample data used is cross-sectional (two-sample gender comparison) and evaluation of differences between statistical techniques used a combination of descriptive and qualitative assessments.

Methods: FDA, SPM and SnPM t-tests were applied to sample data of twenty highly skilled male and female rowers, rowing at 32 strokes per minute in a single scull boat.

Considerations for the use of functional principal components analysis in sports biomechanics: examples from on-water rowing.

The proliferation of new biomechanical technology in laboratory and field settings facilitates the capture of data-sets consisting of complex time-series. An understanding of the appropriate statistical approaches for analysing and interpreting these data-sets is required and the functional data analysis (FDA) family of statistical techniques has emerged in the biomechanical literature. Given the use of FDA is currently in its infancy with biomechanical data, this paper will form the first of a two part series aiming to address practical issues surrounding the application of FDA techniques in biomechanics.

Bivariate functional principal components analysis: considerations for use with multivariate movement signatures in sports biomechanics.

Sporting performance is often investigated through graphical observation of key technical variables that are representative of whole movements. The presence of differences between athletes in such variables has led to terms such as movement signatures being used. These signatures can be multivariate (multiple time-series observed concurrently), and also be composed of variables measured relative to different scales.

How gender and boat-side affect shape characteristics of force-angle profiles in single sculling: Insights from functional data analysis.

Objectives: To examine whether gender or side of the boat influenced shape characteristics of the force-angle profile in on-water single sculling.

Design: Cross-sectional study design.

Methods: Bivariate functional principal components analysis (bfPCA) was applied to force-angle data to identify the main modes of variance in curves of forty highly skilled male and female rowers (national and international level), rowing at 32 strokes per minute in a single scull boat.

Understanding the relationship between duration of untreated psychosis and outcomes: A statistical perspective.

Aim: Although the relationships between duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) and outcomes are often assumed to be linear, few studies have explored the functional form of these relationships. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the potential of recent advances in curve fitting approaches (splines) to explore the form of the relationship between DUP and global assessment of functioning (GAF).

Methods: Curve fitting approaches were used in models to predict change in GAF at long-term follow-up using DUP for a sample of 83 individuals with schizophrenia.

Impact of grass cover on the magnetic susceptibility measurements for assessing metal contamination in urban topsoil.

In recent decades, magnetic susceptibility monitoring has developed as a useful technique in environmental pollution studies, particularly metal contamination of soil. This study provides the first ever examination of the effects of grass cover on magnetic susceptibility (MS) measurements of underlying urban soils. Magnetic measurements were taken in situ to determine the effects on κ (volume magnetic susceptibility) when the grass layer was present (κ) and after the grass layer was trimmed down to the root (κ).

Arsenic contamination of drinking water in Ireland: A spatial analysis of occurrence and potential risk.

The presence of arsenic in groundwater has become a global concern due to the health risks from drinking water with elevated concentrations. The Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the European Union calls for drinking water risk assessment for member states. The present study amalgamates readily available national and sub-national scale datasets on arsenic in groundwater in the Republic of Ireland.

Individualised cognitive functional therapy compared with a combined exercise and pain education class for patients with non-specific chronic low back pain: study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) is a very common and costly musculoskeletal disorder associated with a complex interplay of biopsychosocial factors. Cognitive functional therapy (CFT) represents a novel, patient-centred intervention which directly challenges pain-related behaviours in a cognitively integrated, functionally specific and graduated manner. CFT aims to target all biopsychosocial factors that are deemed to be barriers to recovery for an individual patient with NSCLBP.