Yoxas/statistical_literacy huggingface dataset:
Several curricular initiatives have been developed to improve the acquisition of research competencies by Health Science students. To know how students self-perceived of whether their participation in the XIV National Research Congress for Undergraduate Students of Health Sciences had helped them in the acquisition of 36 research-related transferable competencies (TCs) common to Health Science degrees. A survey design (Cronbach's alpha = 0.924), using a self-administered questionnaire, was conducted among undergraduate students who voluntarily participated in the Congress. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 25 and Statgraphics 19. Statistical significance was considered for P < 0.05. Eighty-one students from 12 Health Science degree programs responded. Key findings are presented in a structured manner, using a Likert-5 scale. Twenty-five of the competencies surveyed obtained an average ≥ 4 highlighting: "Critically evaluate and know how to use sources of clinical and biomedical information to obtain, organize, interpret, and communicate scientific and health information"; "To be able to formulate hypotheses, collect and critically evaluate information for problem solving, following the scientific method", "Critical analysis and research" and "Communicate effectively and clearly, orally and in writing with other professionals". Significance was found in 15 competencies. The development of the competencies "Teamwork", "Critical reasoning" and "Analysis and synthesis abilities" was considered to be of greater "personal utility" by the respondents. Participation in this event contributed to the development of research-related TCs, critical analysis and information management and communication, especially in relation to learning the sources of clinical and biomedical information, to know, following the scientific method, how to formulate hypotheses that allow students to solve problems in their professional activity. The experience was significantly influenced by the respondents' year, the type of participation in the event and the gender of the students. Limitations and suggestions regarding future research are discussed to encourage further exploration of the topic.
Several genetic factors have been associated with cognitive decline in aging. Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) ε4 has been widely studied in the risk for pathological cognitive decline, including dementia. However, the association between ApoE ε4 and cognitive functioning in the healthy aging Indian population has been understudied, and the results are ambiguous. This study aims to examine the role of the ApoE genotype with attentional function in aging adults (≥45 years) in a rural Indian population. Cross-sectional (baseline) data (n = 2100) was utilized from an ongoing longitudinal cohort study on aging (Srinivaspura Aging, Neurosenescence, and Cognition study). Participants hailed from villages of Srinivaspura in Karnataka, southern India. Participants were categorized based on ApoE-ε4 status into three categories: No ε4, heterozygous ε4, and homozygous ε4. Attentional function was assessed using the auditory and visual attention subtests from a computerized neurocognitive test battery. Linear regression was performed adjusting for age, gender, and education. In model 1 (unadjusted), we did not find an association between ApoE and attention function. In the partially adjusted model 2 (adjusting for age), ApoE ε4 with age was significantly associated with the attention function. Further, with increasing age, there was a decline in attention among homozygous ε4 individuals. Model 3 (model 2 + gender) found that ApoE ε4, age, and gender explained a significant variance in attention function. In addition, with increasing age, males had poor attention in the homozygous as compared to heterozygous group. Model 4 (model 3+ education) explained a significant variance in attention and also revealed that with increasing age, attention declined in the illiterate and low literacy groups in both homozygous and heterozygous groups among both genders. Although ApoE ε4 alone was not associated, it interacted with age, gender, and education to affect attention function in this rural Indian population. Longitudinal cognitive monitoring will yield insights into understanding whether the ApoE ε4 genotype influences the rate of cognitive decline in this rural, aging population.
Several national-level surveys have recognized a high prevalence of tobacco use in North-eastern (NE) India. However, information on tobacco use in specific population subgroups still lacks from the region. The present study determines the prevalence and influence of determinants like education and family income on tobacco use in senior school and college-going girls in Shillong, Meghalaya. Additionally, the prevalence of dual use of smoking and smokeless (SLT) tobacco with alcohol and non-tobacco Pan Masala has been examined. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 18-25 years girls in educational institutions in Shillong. Data were analysed using statistical software SPSS version 22. The categorical data presented as frequency (%). Chi-square was employed to see the association between variables. (i) 8.10% of girls were current users of all forms of tobacco; 1.85% were smokers, 4.0% used SLT, and 2.25% were dual users of tobacco (ii) Of the 6.25% current users of SLT, 5.4% used a single smokeless tobacco product whereas 0.85% used multiple products of SLT (iii) 79.5% of tobacco smokers and 30.2% of current SLT users were dual users with alcohol (iv) 37.2% tobacco smokers and 18.5% SLT users were dual users with non-tobacco Pan Masala (v) Tobacco smoking was positively associated with educational status and family income whereas SLT use was independent of educational status and income of girls' families. The study shows a relatively high prevalence of tobacco use and dual tobacco use with alcohol in the study population of educated young adult girls, underscoring a public health concern. It is recommended that an education-based comprehensive awareness program be initiated for tobacco and alcohol control in Meghalaya to improve knowledge and health-seeking behaviour change in this high- risk subgroup to control increasing NCDs.
Several neurological complications have been reported with COVID-19, including Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). We looked at incidence, baseline characteristics, and in-hospital outcomes of COVID-19-associated GBS in the United States. We conducted a retrospective analysis using the US National Inpatient Sample database to identify hospitalizations for COVID-19 and GBS, using International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision, codes G610 and G650 for GBS and U071 for COVID-19. The codes used in this study are listed in Supplemental Digital Content 1 (see e Appendix, http://links.lww.com/JCND/A69). In total, 13,705 GBS admissions were recorded nationwide in 2020; of these, 1155 (8.43%) were associated with COVID-19. The frequency of GBS in COVID-19 admissions was 0.07%, compared with 0.08% in non-COVID-19 admissions (P = 0.8166). COVID-19 cohort with GBS had higher utilization of invasive mechanical ventilation (20.8% vs. 11.8%, P < 0.001) in comparison with COVID-19 cohort without GBS. GBS admissions with COVID-19 exhibited significantly higher inpatient mortality (12.2% vs. 3%, P < 0.001) compared with GBS admissions without COVID-19. Our findings underscore GBS as a rare yet severe complication of COVID-19, highlighting a significant difference in mortality when compared with GBS not associated with COVID-19.
Several nonlanguage factors influence literacy development, and motor skills are among those most studied. Despite the publication of several studies that have supported the existence of this relationship, the type of influence and underlying mechanisms have been little explored. Herein, we propose modeling the relationship between motor skills and literacy through structural equation modeling, testing the contribution of executive functions and handwriting skills as the possible mediators of this relationship. In a study of 278 third-grade children, we used a wide range of measures related to written language (reading, spelling, reading comprehension, and written production), fine motor skills (dominant hand, nondominant hand, and bimanual dexterity), executive functions (verbal and visuospatial working memory, inhibition, and shifting), and handwriting. Structural equation modeling of the relationship between these different variables indicated that in the third grade, the influence of fine motor skills on literacy is fully mediated by both executive functions and handwriting skills. These motor skills effects are observed for both low levels of processing (reading, spelling) and high levels of processing (reading comprehension, written production). The results are discussed in terms of the potential mechanisms underlying different literacy skills and their implications for pedagogical programs.
Several pelvic area cancers exhibit high incidence rates, and their surgical treatment can result in adverse effects such as urinary and fecal incontinence, significantly impacting patients' quality of life. Post-surgery incontinence is a significant concern, with prevalence rates ranging from 25 to 45% for urinary incontinence and 9-68% for fecal incontinence. Cancer survivors are increasingly turning to YouTube as a platform to connect with others, yet caution is warranted as misinformation is prevalent. This study aims to evaluate the information quality in YouTube videos about post-surgical incontinence after pelvic area cancer surgery. A YouTube search for "Incontinence after cancer surgery" yielded 108 videos, which were subsequently analyzed. To evaluate these videos, several quality assessment tools were utilized, including DISCERN, GQS, JAMA, PEMAT, and MQ-VET. Statistical analyses, such as descriptive statistics and intercorrelation tests, were employed to assess various video attributes, including characteristics, popularity, educational value, quality, and reliability. Also, artificial intelligence techniques like PCA, t-SNE, and UMAP were used for data analysis. HeatMap and Hierarchical Clustering Dendrogram techniques validated the Machine Learning results. The quality scales presented a high level of correlation one with each other (p < 0.01) and the Artificial Intelligence-based techniques presented clear clustering representations of the dataset samples, which were reinforced by the Heat Map and Hierarchical Clustering Dendrogram. YouTube videos on "Incontinence after Cancer Surgery" present a "High" quality across multiple scales. The use of AI tools, like PCA, t-SNE, and UMAP, is highlighted for clustering large health datasets, improving data visualization, pattern recognition, and complex healthcare analysis.
Several pharmacy schools have implemented team-based learning (TBL) in their curriculum worldwide. Yet, TBL's effectiveness compared to traditional teaching in improving students' outcomes in pharmacy education is yet to be assessed collectively. Thus, the aim of this meta-analysis is to compare the performance of pharmacy students following the implementation of team-based learning (TBL) in the pharmacy curriculum as opposed to traditional learning methods. This systematic review and meta-analysis included studies that assessed students' performance after TBL was implemented in a pharmacy curriculum. Adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, the review conducted searches in Embase, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar until July 26, 2023. A total of 11 studies comparing TBL against traditional teaching methods and assessing students' performance were included. The pooled analysis, involving 2,400 students from 10 studies, demonstrated a mean difference (MD) in favor of TBL (MD = 2.27, 95 % CI [-0.85, 5.40]). However, notable heterogeneity was observed with an I2 value of 82 %, and the observed difference did not reach statistical significance. TBL exhibited enhanced student performance in pharmacy education compared to traditional teaching, although the difference was not statistically significant. The meta-analysis findings support the use of TBL in pharmacy education for various pharmacy courses (pharmaceutical and clinical sciences courses) and students at different levels. However, there is a need for more robust studies to comprehensively evaluate TBL, considering aspects such as students' performance and engagement, skills development, and satisfaction.
Several prognostic factors have been reported for chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, there are no studies on the prediction of CLBP development in the general population using a risk prediction model. This cross-sectional study aimed to develop and validate a risk prediction model for CLBP development in the general population, and to create a nomogram that can help a person at risk of developing CLBP to receive appropriate counseling on risk modification. Data on CLBP development, demographics, socioeconomic history, and comorbid health conditions of the participants were obtained through a nationally representative health examination and survey from 2007 to 2009. Prediction models for CLBP development were derived from a health survey on a random sample of 80% of the data and validated in the remaining 20%. After developing the risk prediction model for CLBP, the model was incorporated into a nomogram. Data for 17,038 participants were analyzed, including 2693 with CLBP and 14,345 without CLBP. The selected risk factors included age, sex, occupation, education level, mid-intensity physical activity, depressive symptoms, and comorbidities. This model had good predictive performance in the validation dataset (concordance statistic = 0.7569, Hosmer-Lemeshow chi-square statistic = 12.10, p = 0.278). Based on our model, the findings indicated no significant differences between the observed and predicted probabilities. The risk prediction model presented by a nomogram, which is a score-based prediction system, can be incorporated into the clinical setting. Thus, our prediction model can help individuals at risk of developing CLBP to receive appropriate counseling on risk modification from primary physicians.
Several prognostic models such as the Palliative Performance Scale (PPS), Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI), Palliative Prognostic Score (PaP) have been developed to complement clinician's prediction of survival (CPS). However, few studies with large scales have been conducted to show which prognostic tool had better performance than CPS in patients with weeks of survival. We aimed to compare the prognostic performance of the PPS, PPI, PaP, and CPS in inpatients admitted to palliative care units (PCUs). This study was part of a multi-center prospective observational study involving patients admitted to PCUs in Japan. We computed their prognostic performance using the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) and calibration plots for seven, 14-, 30- and 60-day survival. We included 1896 patients with a median overall survival of 19 days. The AUROC was 73% to 84% for 60-day and 30-day survival, 75% to 84% for 14-day survival, and 80% to 87% for seven-day survival. The calibration plot demonstrated satisfactory agreement between the observational and predictive probability for the four indices in all timeframes. Therefore, all four prognostic indices showed good performance. CPS and PaP consistently had significantly better performance than the PPS and PPI from one-week to two-month timeframes. The PPS, PPI, PaP, and CPS had relatively good performance in patients admitted to PCUs with weeks of survival. CPS and PaP had significantly better performance than the PPS and PPI. CPS may be sufficient for experienced clinicians while PPS may help to improve prognostic confidence for inexperienced clinicians.
Several reasons have been given why students should have contacts with real patients early in the undergraduate medical curriculum, i.e., in the preclinical phase. However, it is not clear exactly what effects early patient contacts have with regard to knowledge construction and the development of clinical reasoning skills. We sought students' views of the effects of preclinical real patient contacts on their learning, knowledge construction and development of clinical reasoning. Twenty-four students in the third and last preclinical year of a 6-year undergraduate medical programme were divided into three focus groups which met twice, after which saturation was reached. The discussions were recorded and transcribed. Summaries of the discussions were approved by the students after some modifications. Atlas-ti software was used to create a coding framework resulting in identification of main themes and sub themes. Early patient contacts motivate students to study, help them understand the impact of illness on patients' lives, and enhance professional socialisation and memory processes. Students distinguish between analytic and non-analytic clinical reasoning in connection with real patients. Analytic reasoning involves clinical and basic science knowledge. Non-analytic reasoning involves pattern recognition and is made possible by experiential learning from different patient contacts. The students indicate that seeing real patients early in their training has several positive effects on their learning. The contacts enhance knowledge construction and clinical reasoning. Although our results will have to be validated by quantitative, observational and experimental research, they imply that educational benefits are to be gained from real patient contacts in the preclinical phase of medical education.
Several recent works using resting-state fMRI suggest possible alterations of resting-state functional connectivity after mild traumatic brain injury. However, the literature is plagued by various analysis approaches and small study cohorts, resulting in an inconsistent array of reported findings. In this study, we aimed to investigate differences in whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity between adult patients with mild traumatic brain injury within 1 month of injury and healthy control subjects using several comprehensive resting-state functional connectivity measurement methods and analyses. A total of 123 subjects (72 patients with mild traumatic brain injury and 51 healthy controls) were included. A standard fMRI preprocessing pipeline was used. ROI/seed-based analyses were conducted using 4 standard brain parcellation methods, and the independent component analysis method was applied to measure resting-state functional connectivity. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations was also measured. Group comparisons were performed on all measurements with appropriate whole-brain multilevel statistical analysis and correction. There were no significant differences in age, sex, education, and hand preference between groups as well as no significant correlation between all measurements and these potential confounders. We found that each resting-state functional connectivity measurement revealed various regions or connections that were different between groups. However, after we corrected for multiple comparisons, the results showed no statistically significant differences between groups in terms of resting-state functional connectivity across methods and analyses. Although previous studies point to multiple regions and networks as possible mild traumatic brain injury biomarkers, this study shows that the effect of mild injury on brain resting-state functional connectivity has not survived after rigorous statistical correction. A further study using subject-level connectivity analyses may be necessary due to both subtle and variable effects of mild traumatic brain injury on brain functional connectivity across individuals.
Several scientific, engineering, and medical advancements are based on breakthroughs made by people who excel in mathematics. Our current understanding of the underlying brain networks stems primarily from anatomical and functional investigations, but our knowledge of how neurotransmitters subserve numerical skills, the building block of mathematics, is scarce. Using 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (N = 54, 3T, semi-LASER sequence, TE = 32 ms, TR = 3.5 s), the study examined the relation between numerical skills and the brain's major inhibitory (GABA) and excitatory (glutamate) neurotransmitters. A negative association was found between the performance in a number sequences task and the resting concentration of GABA within the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS), a key region supporting numeracy. The relation between GABA in the IPS and number sequences was specific to (1) parietal but not frontal regions and to (2) GABA but not glutamate. It was additionally found that the resting functional connectivity of the left IPS and the left superior frontal gyrus was positively associated with number sequences performance. However, resting GABA concentration within the IPS explained number sequences performance above and beyond the resting frontoparietal connectivity measure. Our findings further motivate the study of inhibition mechanisms in the human brain and significantly contribute to our current understanding of numerical cognition's biological bases.
Several studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of telerehabilitation. However, it remains unclear what proportion of people in need of rehabilitation can confidently use telecommunications networks and related devices. The aim of this study is to estimate the proportion of patients who possess either the requisite digital literacy to perform telerehabilitation independently or have a family caregiver capable of providing effective support. Synthetic populations with a realistic kinship network (i.e. family trees) representative of European countries are built. Age, sex, and location-specific prevalence rates of rehabilitation needs and digital skills are combined to estimate the percentage of digitally literate patients and patients with digitally literate relatives. In Europe, 86% of people in need of rehabilitation are potentially eligible for telerehabilitation. However, in four out of five cases, eligible patients over the age of 65 require caregiver support. Telerehabilitation has the potential to spread in Europe. Caregivers have an essential social role in ensuring sustainable access to telerehabilitation.
Several studies have examined the occupational factors associated with alcohol use and dependence. However, there are very few studies that investigated the role of occupational factors associated with long-term abstinence among persons treated for alcohol dependence in India. To examine the occupational factors associated with long-term abstinence among persons treated for alcohol dependence. Sixty in-patients treated for alcohol dependence were selected using inclusion criteria from the Government-run de-addiction center, tertiary care teaching hospital, Bangalore. All patients were followed up periodically for 1 year. The semi-structured interview schedule was used for collecting data on occupational factors associated with long-term abstinence. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and Fisher exact test were used for data analysis. There was a positive trend showing self-employed (pf = 1.74, P = 0.45), having skilled work (pf = 1.52, P = 0.72), regular pattern of employment (pf = 1.21, P =.60), monthly mode of income (pf = 1.43, P =.76) were factors associated with abstinence. Among eight occupational variables, employment status (x2 = 4.0, P =.04) and having well-defined working hours ((pf = 6.18, P =.04) were significantly associated with long-term abstinence among persons treated for alcohol dependence. Occupational factors seem to influence the outcome in alcohol dependence and appropriate vocational interventions would be effective in promoting long-term abstinence.