A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF METHODOLOGIES USED TO ASSESS “UNANTICIPATED” CUTTING MECHANICS

Biomechanical analysis of cutting mechanics is a popular approach to assessing risk factors for injuries such as anterior cruciate ligament ruptures. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the methodological approaches to assessing unanticipated cutting mechanics and provide a review of such approaches. A total of 93 articles where identified that had assessed unanticipated cutting. The most common methodological design was a 45° cutting task following a run-up where the direction of the cut was determined by a light-based stimulus. External light stimuli create a worst-case scenario by providing information about the task at the last moment meaning opportunity for preparatory mechanics is limited. However, light stimuli do not allow for perception-action to take place and may therefore not truly reflect an athlete’s cutting mechanics

Trauma-Informed Youth Sport: Identifying Program Characteristics and Challenges to Advance Practice

This purpose of this qualitative study was to explore shared characteristics and local challenges of trauma-informed youth sport program design and implementation through the voices of ten program facilitators (e.g., director, trainer; 8 women, 2 men; average age of 36.2 years, SD = 6.03) across four U.S. regions. Within a postpositivist approach and through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews (average length of 53 minutes), shared characteristics identified by facilitators included promoting a safe and supportive environment, cultivating healthy relationships among adults and peers, and intentional psychological and social skill-building (e.g., attentional cues). Facilitators also explained the importance of understanding the local context to engage youth and develop key strategies to mitigate challenges such as prioritizing the voices of youth involved in their programs, attending to staff needs and providing continual development and training, and collaboration among community partners to support their programmatic efforts. The study findings may be used to inform future research conceptualizing best practices for inclusive youth sport settings and provide added context for facilitators in the development, implementation, and sustainability of the trauma-informed approach

The impacts of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose separation and targeting on the COVID-19 epidemic in England

In late 2020, the JCVI (the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which provides advice to the Department of Health and Social Care, England) made two important recommendations for the initial roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine. The first was that vaccines should be targeted to older and vulnerable people, with the aim of maximally preventing disease rather than infection. The second was to increase the interval between first and second doses from 3 to 12 weeks. Here, we re-examine these recommendations through a mathematical model of SARS-CoV-2 infection in England. We show that targeting the most vulnerable had the biggest immediate impact (compared to targeting younger individuals who may be more responsible for transmission). The 12-week delay was also highly beneficial, estimated to have averted between 32-72 thousand hospital admissions and 4-9 thousand deaths over the first ten months of the campaign (December 2020–September 2021) depending on the assumed interaction between dose interval and efficacy

Association Between Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection and Myocardial Infarction Among People Living With HIV in the United States.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is common among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH). Extrahepatic manifestations of HCV, including myocardial infarction (MI), are a topic of active research. MI is classified into types, predominantly atheroembolic type 1 MI (T1MI) and supply-demand mismatch type 2 MI (T2MI). We examined the association between HCV and MI among patients in the Centers for AIDS Research (CFAR) Network of Integrated Clinical Systems, a US multicenter clinical cohort of PLWH. MIs were centrally adjudicated and categorized by type using the Third Universal Definition of Myocardial Infarction. We estimated the association between chronic HCV (RNA+) and time to MI while adjusting for demographic characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, clinical characteristics, and history of injecting drug use. Among 23,407 PLWH aged ≥18 years, there were 336 T1MIs and 330 T2MIs during a median of 4.7 years of follow-up between 1998 and 2016. HCV was associated with a 46% greater risk of T2MI (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.46, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09, 1.97) but not T1MI (aHR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.58, 1.29). In an exploratory cause-specific analysis of T2MI, HCV was associated with a 2-fold greater risk of T2MI attributed to sepsis (aHR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.24). Extrahepatic manifestations of HCV in this high-risk population are an important area for continued research

Multivariate models from RNA-Seq SNVs yield candidate molecular targets for biomarker discovery: SNV-DA

Breast: up and downstream SNVs model. (CSV 22.1 kb

Modelling optimal vaccination strategy for SARS-CoV-2 in the UK

The COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted our vulnerability to novel infections. Faced with this threat and no effective treatment, in line with many other countries, the UK adopted enforced social distancing (lockdown) to reduce transmission—successfully reducing the reproductive number R below one. However, given the large pool of susceptible individuals that remain, complete relaxation of controls is likely to generate a substantial further outbreak. Vaccination remains the only foreseeable means of both containing the infection and returning to normal interactions and behaviour. Here, we consider the optimal targeting of vaccination within the UK, with the aim of minimising future deaths or quality adjusted life year (QALY) losses. We show that, for a range of assumptions on the action and efficacy of the vaccine, targeting older age groups first is optimal and may be sufficient to stem the epidemic if the vaccine prevents transmission as well as disease

Retrospectively modeling the effects of increased global vaccine sharing on the COVID-19 pandemic

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has caused considerable morbidity and mortality worldwide. The protection provided by vaccines and booster doses offered a method of mitigating severe clinical outcomes and mortality. However, by the end of 2021, the global distribution of vaccines was highly heterogeneous, with some countries gaining over 90% coverage in adults, whereas others reached less than 2%. In this study, we used an age-structured model of SARS-CoV-2 dynamics, matched to national data from 152 countries in 2021, to investigate the global impact of different potential vaccine sharing protocols that attempted to address this inequity. We quantified the effects of implemented vaccine rollout strategies on the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the subsequent global burden of disease and the emergence of novel variants. We found that greater vaccine sharing would have lowered the total global burden of disease, and any associated increases in infections in previously vaccine-rich countries could have been mitigated by reduced relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions. Our results reinforce the health message, pertinent to future pandemics, that vaccine distribution proportional to wealth, rather than to need, may be detrimental to all

Vaccination and non-pharmaceutical interventions for COVID-19 : a mathematical modelling study

Background The dynamics of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 are complicated by age-dependent factors, changing levels of infection, and the relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) as the perceived risk declines, necessitating the use of mathematical models. Our aims were to use epidemiological data from the UK together with estimates of vaccine efficacy to predict the possible long-term dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 under the planned vaccine rollout. Methods In this study, we used a mathematical model structured by age and UK region, fitted to a range of epidemiological data in the UK, which incorporated the planned rollout of a two-dose vaccination programme (doses 12 weeks apart, protection onset 14 days after vaccination). We assumed default vaccine uptake of 95% in those aged 80 years and older, 85% in those aged 50–79 years, and 75% in those aged 18–49 years, and then varied uptake optimistically and pessimistically. Vaccine efficacy against symptomatic disease was assumed to be 88% on the basis of Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines being administered in the UK, and protection against infection was varied from 0% to 85%. We considered the combined interaction of the UK vaccination programme with multiple potential future relaxations (or removals) of NPIs, to predict the reproduction number (R) and pattern of daily deaths and hospital admissions due to COVID-19 from January, 2021, to January, 2024. Findings We estimate that vaccination alone is insufficient to contain the outbreak. In the absence of NPIs, even with our most optimistic assumption that the vaccine will prevent 85% of infections, we estimate R to be 1·58 (95% credible intervals [CI] 1·36–1·84) once all eligible adults have been offered both doses of the vaccine. Under the default uptake scenario, removal of all NPIs once the vaccination programme is complete is predicted to lead to 21 400 deaths (95% CI 1400–55 100) due to COVID-19 for a vaccine that prevents 85% of infections, although this number increases to 96 700 deaths (51 800–173 200) if the vaccine only prevents 60% of infections. Although vaccination substantially reduces total deaths, it only provides partial protection for the individual; we estimate that, for the default uptake scenario and 60% protection against infection, 48·3% (95% CI 48·1–48·5) and 16·0% (15·7–16·3) of deaths will be in individuals who have received one or two doses of the vaccine, respectively. Interpretation For all vaccination scenarios we investigated, our predictions highlight the risks associated with early or rapid relaxation of NPIs. Although novel vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 offer a potential exit strategy for the pandemic, success is highly contingent on the precise vaccine properties and population uptake, both of which need to be carefully monitored

Periconceptional environment predicts leukocyte telomere length in a cross-sectional study of 7-9 year old rural Gambian children

Early life exposures are important predictors of adult disease risk. Although the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown, telomere maintenance may be involved. This study investigated the relationship between seasonal differences in parental exposures at time of conception and leukocyte telomere length (LTL) in their offspring. LTL was measured in two cohorts of children aged 2 yrs (N = 487) and 7–9 yrs (N = 218). The association between date of conception and LTL was examined using Fourier regression models, adjusted for age, sex, leukocyte cell composition, and other potential confounders. We observed an effect of season in the older children in all models [likelihood ratio test (LRT) χ²2 = 7.1, p = 0.03; fully adjusted model]. LTL was greatest in children conceived in September (in the rainy season), and smallest in those conceived in March (in the dry season), with an effect size (LTL peak–nadir) of 0.60 z-scores. No effect of season was evident in the younger children (LRT χ²2 = 0.87, p = 0.65). The different results obtained for the two cohorts may reflect a delayed effect of season of conception on postnatal telomere maintenance. Alternatively, they may be explained by unmeasured differences in early life exposures, or the increased telomere attrition rate during infancy