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| 2. |
- Lytras, T., et al.
(författare)
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Occupational exposures and incidence of chronic bronchitis and related symptoms over two decades: The European Community Respiratory Health Survey
- 2019
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Ingår i: Occupational and environmental medicine. - : BMJ. - 1351-0711 .- 1470-7926. ; 76:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: Chronic bronchitis (CB) is an important chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related phenotype, with distinct clinical features and prognostic implications. Occupational exposures have been previously associated with increased risk of CB but few studies have examined this association prospectively using objective exposure assessment. We examined the effect of occupational exposures on CB incidence in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Methods: Population samples aged 20-44 were randomly selected in 1991-1993, and followed up twice over 20 years. Participants without chronic cough or phlegm at baseline were analysed. Coded job histories during follow-up were linked to the ALOHA Job Exposure Matrix, generating occupational exposure estimates to 12 categories of chemical agents. Their association with CB incidence over both follow-ups was examined with Poisson models using generalised estimating equations. Results: 8794 participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria, contributing 13 185 observations. Only participants exposed to metals had a higher incidence of CB (relative risk (RR) 1.70, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.50) compared with non-exposed to metals. Mineral dust exposure increased the incidence of chronic phlegm (RR 1.72, 95% CI 1.43 to 2.06). Incidence of chronic phlegm was increased in men exposed to gases/fumes and to solvents and in women exposed to pesticides. Conclusions: Occupational exposures are associated with chronic phlegm and CB, and the evidence is strongest for metals and mineral dust exposure. The observed differences between men and women warrant further investigation. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019.
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| 3. |
- Lytras, T., et al.
(författare)
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Occupational exposures and 20-year incidence of COPD: the European Community Respiratory Health Survey
- 2018
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Ingår i: Thorax. - : BMJ. - 0040-6376 .- 1468-3296. ; 73:11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Occupational exposures have been associated with an increased risk of COPD. However, few studies have related objectively assessed occupational exposures to prospectively assessed incidence of COPD, using postbronchodilator lung function tests. Our objective was to examine the effect of occupational exposures on COPD incidence in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Methods General population samples aged 20-44 were randomly selected in 1991-1993 and followed up 20 years later (2010-2012). Spirometry was performed at baseline and at follow-up, with incident COPD defined using a lower limit of normal criterion for postbronchodilator FEV1/FVC. Only participants without COPD and without current asthma at baseline were included. Coded job histories during follow-up were linked to a Job-Exposure Matrix, generating occupational exposure estimates to 12 categories of agents. Their association with COPD incidence was examined in log-binomial models fitted in a Bayesian framework. Findings 3343 participants fulfilled the inclusion criteria; 89 of them had COPD at follow-up (1.4 cases/1000 person-years). Participants exposed to biological dust had a higher incidence of COPD compared with those unexposed (relative risk (RR) 1.6, 95% CI 1.1 to 2.3), as did those exposed to gases and fumes (RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.0 to 2.2) and pesticides (RR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.8). The combined population attributable fraction for these exposures was 21.0%. Interpretation These results substantially strengthen the evidence base for occupational exposures as an important risk factor for COPD.
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| 4. |
- Arjoni, D. H., et al.
(författare)
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Experimental Evaluation of the Human Performance on a RoboticFlight Simulator based on FOQA Parameters
- 2016
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Aerospace Technology Congress. - Stockholm. ; , s. 1-11
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The SIVOR project, currently being developed by ITA and Embraer, consists of designing andimplementing a high fidelity flight simulator based on the use of COTS industrial robots. The aim of theproject is to provide a cost-efficient and flexible platform that can be used along the design phases of theaircraft. One of the advantages of an industrial robot over the traditional Stewart platform is theavailability of a large workspace, which provides more flexibility for defining the washout filter. Thisfilter converts the aircraft dynamics into robot movements, which has a limited workspace. The mainpurpose of the flight simulator is to provide a motion feeling similar to the one imposed by the aircraftmovements in a real flight. The representativeness of the motion cue is usually evaluated in a qualitativeway by the pilots that fly the simulator. Quantitative methods to evaluate the entire range of actuation of asimulator are complex, inducing tests in fractions of the flight to increase performance. In this work, wediscuss the use of FOQA (Flight Operational Quality Assurance) as an additional quantitative tool for theevaluation of the motion cue in the SIVOR flight simulator. FOQA is a voluntary safety program fromFAA, detailed in AC-120-82. It proposes a set of parameters that can be used by airliners to analyse flightsafety and increase operational efficiency. The verification of FOQA parameters checks whether or notthe pilot complies with the standard operational procedures defined by the airliners and aircraftmanufacturers. The purpose of this work is to analyse whether or not, and to what extent, the FOQAparameters can be used to evaluate the quality of the motion cue of flight simulators. For this purpose, wedefine an experimental procedure that compares flights performed by pilots under different motionmodes. It then calculates a set of behavioural parameters that has been proposed in order to quantify howthe motion affects the inputs of the pilot. The results are submitted to ANOVA statistical analysis thatverifies the relevance of the motion factor. Finally, we discuss the capability of a FOQA basedexperiment to estimate the contribution of the motion to the realism of the flight simulation.
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| 5. |
- Palmer, K., et al.
(författare)
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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANAEMIA AND FRAILTY : A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES
- 2018
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Ingår i: The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1279-7707 .- 1760-4788. ; 22:8, s. 965-974
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: There is increasing evidence that frailty may play a role in chronic diseases, but the associations with specific chronic disorders are still unclear. Objectives: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the association of anaemia and frailty in observational studies. Methods: The review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase from 01/01/2002-10/09/2017. Pooled estimates were obtained through random effect models and Mantel-Haenszel weighting. Homogeneity was assessed with the I2 statistic. Publication bias was assessed with Egger's and Begg's tests. Results: Nineteen studies were included; two longitudinal, seventeen cross-sectional. All studies except three reported an association between anaemia and frailty. The pooled prevalence of prefrailty in individuals with anaemia was 49% (95% CI=38-59%; I2=89.96%) and 24% (95% CI=17-31%; I2= 94.78%) for frailty. Persons with anaemia had more than a twofold odds of frailty (pooled OR=2.24 95% CI=1.53-3.30; I2=91.8%). Only two studies longitudinally examined the association between anaemia and frailty, producing conflicting results. Conclusions: Frailty and prefrailty are common in anaemic persons. Older persons with anaemia have more than a two-fold increased odds of frailty. These results may have clinical implications, as they identify the need to assess frailty in anaemic people and investigate any potential negative effects associated with the co-occurrence of both conditions. Longitudinal research that examines temporal changes in anaemia and effect of treatment are needed to further clarify the relationship between anaemia and frailty.
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| 7. |
- Carfi, A., et al.
(författare)
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Bone mineral density in adults with Down syndrome
- 2017
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Ingår i: Osteoporosis International. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0937-941X .- 1433-2965. ; 28:10, s. 2929-2934
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- SummaryThis study analyzed data of bone mineral density (BMD) from a large cohort of adults with Down syndrome (DS). BMD was found to decrease with age more rapidly in these subjects than in the general population, exposing adults with DS to an increased risk of osteoporosis and bone fracture.IntroductionDown syndrome (DS) in adulthood presents with a high prevalence of osteoporosis. However, in DS, bone mineral density (BMD) can be underestimated due to short stature. Furthermore, the rate of age-related decline in BMD and its association with gender in DS has been rarely evaluated or compared with the general population. The present study is aimed at assessing the variation of BMD with age and gender in a sample of adults with DS and to compare these data with those of the general population, after adjusting for anthropometric differences.MethodsAdults with DS, aged 18 or older, were assessed dual-energy-X-ray-absorptiometry (DXA) at the femoral neck and at the lumbar spine. They were compared with the general population enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2010 dataset. Bone mineral apparent density (BMAD) was calculated for each individual.ResultsDXA was evaluated in 234 subjects with DS (mean age 36.93 +/- 11.83 years, ranging from 20 to 69 years; 50.4% females). In the lumbar spine both mean BMD (DS 0.880 +/- 0.141 vs. NHANES 1.062 +/- 0.167, p < 0.001) and BMAD (DS 0.138 +/- 0.020 vs. NHANES 0.152 +/- 0.020, p < 0.001) were significantly lower in the DS sample than in the NAHNES cohort. The same trend was observed at the femoral neck in both BMD (DS 0.658 +/- 0.128 vs. NHANES 0.835 +/- 0.137, p < 0.001) and BMAD (DS 0.151 +/- 0.030 vs. NHANES 0.159 +/- 0.028, p < 0.001). Age was associated with lower femoral neck BMAD in both samples; importantly, this association was significantly stronger in the DS sample. In the lumbar spine region, no significant association between BMAD and age could be observed in both samples.ConclusionsAdults with DS have lower bone mineral density compared to the general population and they experience a steeper decline with age. Early screening programs are needed in DS population.
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| 8. |
- Eklund, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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A Bayesian Heteroscedastic GLM with Application to fMRI Data with Motion Spikes
- 2017
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Ingår i: NeuroImage. - : Elsevier. - 1053-8119 .- 1095-9572. ; 155, s. 354-369
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We propose a voxel-wise general linear model with autoregressive noise and heteroscedastic noise innovations (GLMH) for analyzing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. The model is analyzed from a Bayesian perspective and has the benefit of automatically down-weighting time points close to motion spikes in a data-driven manner. We develop a highly efficient Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm that allows for Bayesian variable selection among the regressors to model both the mean (i.e., the design matrix) and variance. This makes it possible to include a broad range of explanatory variables in both the mean and variance (e.g., time trends, activation stimuli, head motion parameters and their temporal derivatives), and to compute the posterior probability of inclusion from the MCMC output. Variable selection is also applied to the lags in the autoregressive noise process, making it possible to infer the lag order from the data simultaneously with all other model parameters. We use both simulated data and real fMRI data from OpenfMRI to illustrate the importance of proper modeling of heteroscedasticity in fMRI data analysis. Our results show that the GLMH tends to detect more brain activity, compared to its homoscedastic counterpart, by allowing the variance to change over time depending on the degree of head motion.
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| 9. |
- Marcon, A., et al.
(författare)
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Trends in smoking initiation in Europe over 40 years: A retrospective cohort study
- 2018
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Ingår i: Plos One. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 13:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Tobacco consumption is the largest avoidable health risk. Understanding changes of smoking over time and across populations is crucial to implementing health policies. We evaluated trends in smoking initiation between 1970 and 2009 in random samples of European populations. We pooled data from six multicentre studies involved in the Ageing Lungs in European Cohorts consortium, including overall 119,104 subjects from 17 countries (range of median ages across studies: 33-52 years). We estimated retrospectively trends in the rates of smoking initiation (uptake of regular smoking) by age group, and tested birth cohort effects using Age-Period-Cohort (APC) modelling. We stratified all analyses by sex and region (North, East, South, West Europe). Smoking initiation during late adolescence (16-20 years) declined for both sexes and in all regions (except for South Europe, where decline levelled off after 1990). By the late 2000s, rates of initiation during late adolescence were still high (40-80 per 1000/year) in East, South, and West Europe compared to North Europe (20 per 1000/year). Smoking initiation rates during early adolescence (11-15 years) showed a marked increase after 1990 in all regions (except for North European males) but especially in West Europe, where they reached 40 per 1000/year around 2005. APC models supported birth cohort effects in the youngest cohorts. Smoking initiation is still unacceptably high among European adolescents, and increasing rates among those aged 15 or less deserve attention. Reducing initiation in adolescents is fundamental, since youngsters are particularly vulnerable to nicotine addiction and tobacco adverse effects.
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| 10. |
- Moreira, A. H., et al.
(författare)
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Experimental evaluation of the contribution of adding a motion system to an EDS
- 2016
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the Aerospace Technology Congress. - Stockholm. ; , s. 1-10
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The use of flight simulators in pilot training campaigns has become a cheaper and saferalternative to the use of a real aircraft, as simulators will not cause any kind of humaninjury or vehicular damages. However, the degree of fidelity of the simulation is of theutmost importance for this application, thus it has become the subject of discussion inseveral studies.It is understood as a flight simulator with a high degree of fidelity, all kind of simulatorsthat are capable of providing motion cues that are sufficiently similar to those obtainedduring an actual flight, so much so that a human would be incapable of noticing anydifference (Giordano et al., 2010). Many argue that the only way to obtain such a highquality of simulation is by using a motion platform, which makes the cost of thisequipment the same order of magnitude of a real aircraft.Several recent studies have contributed in this topic of discussion, the influence of themotion platform is still unclear (McCauley, 2006), (Proctor, Bauer and Lucario, 2007),(McDaniel, Scott and Browning, 1983). Bürki-cohen, Sparko and Bellman (2011) madea thorough review of the need of motion platforms in aircraft simulators while discussesthe need of motion platforms in military helicopter simulators, butThe objective of this work is to analyze the contribution of adding a motion system to anEDS (Engineering Development System), yielding a flexible and reconfigurablesimulator, available as soon as the official aerodynamic databank is made available. Theadvantage (if any) of creating an EDS with motion platform is that it brings to the aircraftdevelopment cycle, the opportunity of anticipating the knowledge acquired in thelearning-by-using approach, by means of a simulation environment that resembles thebehavior of the final product, especially in the early development phases.
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