Patient-reported disability progression outcomes among patients with multiple sclerosis: Results of an outcomes-based agreement.

Background: Outcomes-based agreements (OBAs) are agreements between payers and manufacturers in which payment for medications is tied to patient outcomes. These contracts aim to measure the value of prescription medications on predefined clinical indicators in real-world patient populations. OBAs are gaining traction in the United States as the health care industry shifts from volume-based to value-based care.

Examining the Effects of Dynamic and Isometric Resistance Training on Knee Joint Kinetics During Unplanned Sidesteps in Elite Female Athletes.

Kadlec, D, Jordan, MJ, Alderson, J, and Nimphius, S. Examining the effects of dynamic and isometric resistance training on knee joint kinetics during unplanned sidesteps in elite female athletes. J Strength Cond Res 38(12): 2079-2087, 2024-The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 4-week block of isometric (isometric RT ) and dynamic resistance training (dynamic RT ) on kinetic variables associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk during unplanned sidesteps in elite female athletes.

Automating Video-Based Two-Dimensional Motion Analysis in Sport? Implications for Gait Event Detection, Pose Estimation, and Performance Parameter Analysis.

Background: Two-dimensional (2D) video is a common tool used during sports training and competition to analyze movement. In these videos, biomechanists determine key events, annotate joint centers, and calculate spatial, temporal, and kinematic parameters to provide performance reports to coaches and athletes. Automatic tools relying on computer vision and artificial intelligence methods hold promise to reduce the need for time-consuming manual methods.

Parental concerns about genital differences in children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia persist regardless of the selected intervention.

Background: Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21HD) can affect the in utero development of the genital anatomy of people with the 46XX karyotype. Health professionals engage parents in decision-making regarding managing genitals with this difference, including genital surgery options and patient communication.

Aim: We sought to investigate parental communication with their daughters regarding clitoral size variation related to neonatal CAH.

The Effect of Acute Knee Injuries and Related Knee Surgery on Serum Levels of Pro- and Anti-inflammatory Lipid Mediators and Their Associations With Knee Symptoms.

Background: Despite an acute knee injury being a major risk factor for osteoarthritis, the factors that initiate and maintain this risk of longer-term knee symptoms are poorly understood. Bioactive lipids derived from omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids have key roles in the regulation of the inflammatory response and have been linked to joint damage and osteoarthritis pain in translational models.

Hypothesis: There would be associations between systemic levels of bioactive lipids and knee symptoms longitudinally after an acute knee injury and related knee surgery.

Multi-stakeholder opinion statement on the care of individuals born with differences of sex development: common ground and opportunities for improvement.

Background: In the last 15 years, the care provided for individuals born with differences of sex development (DSD) has evolved, with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches. However, these developments have not convinced some stakeholders to embrace the current model of care. This care model has also paid insufficient attention to socio-cultural differences and global inequalities.

The expert eye? An inter-rater comparison of elite tennis serve kinematics and performance.

This study examined the reliability of expert tennis coaches/biomechanists to qualitatively assess selected features of the serve with the aid of two-dimensional (2D) video replays. Two expert high-performance coaches rated the serves of 150 male and 150 female players across three different age groups from two different camera viewing angles. Serve performance was rated across 13 variables that represented commonly investigated and coached (serve) mechanics using a 1-7 Likert rating scale.

Which social media platforms matter and for whom? Examining moderators of links between adolescents' social media use and depressive symptoms.

Introduction: Despite extensive research on social media and risks for mental health, not enough is known about individual differences in these risks.

Methods: The present study, with data collected from 2018 to 2020, investigated the association between social media use (total and for specific platforms) and depressive symptoms in a sample of 237 American adolescents (M  = 15.10; SD = 0.

Estimating Ground Reaction Forces from Two-Dimensional Pose Data: A Biomechanics-Based Comparison of AlphaPose, BlazePose, and OpenPose.

The adoption of computer vision pose estimation approaches, used to identify keypoint locations which are intended to reflect the necessary anatomical landmarks relied upon by biomechanists for musculoskeletal modelling, has gained increasing traction in recent years. This uptake has been further accelerated by keypoint use as inputs into machine learning models used to estimate biomechanical parameters such as ground reaction forces (GRFs) in the absence of instrumentation required for direct measurement. This study first aimed to investigate the keypoint detection rate of three open-source pose estimation models (AlphaPose, BlazePose, and OpenPose) across varying movements, camera views, and trial lengths.

Sleeve Gastrectomy: Does the Amount of Stomach Removed Matter?

Purpose: Data regarding the associations between percent weight loss and the volume and weight of stomach resected during sleeve gastrectomy (SG) are mixed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the size and volume of stomach removed during laparoscopic SG on percent total body weight lost (%TBWL).

Methods: An observational case series study was performed on 67 patients for 1 year after SG at a single university-affiliated, tertiary care hospital.

Synthesising 2D Video from 3D Motion Data for Machine Learning Applications.

To increase the utility of legacy, gold-standard, three-dimensional (3D) motion capture datasets for computer vision-based machine learning applications, this study proposed and validated a method to synthesise two-dimensional (2D) video image frames from historic 3D motion data. We applied the video-based human pose estimation model OpenPose to real (in situ) and synthesised 2D videos and compared anatomical landmark keypoint outputs, with trivial observed differences (2.11−3.

Standardised aspiration first approach reduces materials used and cost of thrombectomy procedure in anterior circulation large vessel occlusion stoke.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the volume of equipment and equipment costs in a cohort of consecutive patients with anterior circulation large vessel occlusion treated with a standardised aspiration first approach to those treated with a stent retriever first approach.

Methods: The equipment used in each case was recorded from a prospectively maintained equipment log. We then compared the volume of equipment used in each group.

Incidence, Mechanisms, and Characteristics of Injuries in Pole Dancers: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Pole dancing is a challenging physical activity. Prospective injury studies in pole dancing are lacking. The aim of this study was to describe the incidence, mechanisms, and characteristics of injuries in pole dancers.

Changes in acceleration load as measured by inertial measurement units manifest in the upper body after an extended running task.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the behaviour of physiological load measures as well as ground reaction forces (GRF) and acceleration load during a prolonged running task that simulated the running demands of an intermittent team sport. Nineteen males completed a maximal aerobic fitness test and an extended running protocol across two sessions. Participants wore a portable metabolic system, and four inertial measurement units (IMU), one on each foot, the lower back and upper back.

Why do parents recommend clitoral surgery? Parental perception of the necessity, benefit, and cost of early childhood clitoral surgery for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).

Historically, medical management of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) in girls typically involved feminising surgery, which meant reducing the size and/or visibility of the enlarged clitoris. This practice may have become less routine but remains a common response to genital differences associated with CAH. Parents typically give permission for the child to undergo surgery in early childhood and recommend other parents facing a similar situation do the same.

The effect of planning time on penultimate and ultimate step kinematics and subsequent knee moments during sidestepping.

Frontal plane postures during the ultimate step of sidestepping are linked to increased anterior cruciate ligament injury risk. However, there is a lack of research detailing the kinematic strategies present in the penultimate step. This study, therefore, investigated penultimate and ultimate step kinematics of planned sidestepping (pSS) and unplanned sidestepping (upSS) to further understand the effect of planning time on known ultimate step kinematic and kinetic differences.

Psychological Care of Children and Families with Variations or Differences in Sex Development.

The paediatric clinical psychology literature provides applicable evidence for use in specialist healthcare settings and services. The general approach of psychological care of children and families with paediatric conditions is recognizable as preventative and destigmatizing, aimed to maximize personal agency with shared responsibility for achieving best outcomes via multi-professional teamwork. Recent commentaries regarding healthcare for children with differences in sex development (DSD) have noted service-level pitfalls, including poor teamwork and underuse of early and integrated psychological intervention.

Measurement of uni-planar and sport specific trunk motion using magneto-inertial measurement units: The concurrent validity of Noraxon and Xsens systems relative to a retro-reflective system.

Background: There is a range of magneto-inertial measurement unit (MIMU) systems commercially available, however sensor specifications and fusion methods vary considerably between manufacturers. Such variability can influence the concurrent validity of MIMUs relative to reference standard measurement devices. Different MIMUs have been compared during static or low-velocity conditions, with higher-velocity movements assessed in robotic-based studies.

Correlation between acute ischaemic stroke clot length before mechanical thrombectomy and extracted clot area: Impact of thrombus size on number of passes for clot removal and final recanalization.

Introduction: We assessed the correlation between thrombus size before and after mechanical thrombectomy, measured as length by Computed Tomography Angiography/Non-Contrast Computed Tomography (CTA/NCCT) and Extracted Clot Area, ECA, respectively. We also assessed the influence of thrombus size on the number of passes required for clot removal and final recanalization outcome.

Materials And Methods: Acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) thrombi retrieved by mechanical thrombectomy from 500 patients and data of clot length by CTA/NCCT were collected from three hospitals in Europe.

Obstructive Jaundice Secondary to Extramedullary Hematopoiesis.

Extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is the development of hematopoietic tissue outside of the bone marrow. In adults, the bone marrow is the main site of hematopoiesis. When this process occurs outside of the bone marrow, it is a sign of disease or deficiency.

Functional calibration does not improve the concurrent validity of magneto-inertial wearable sensor-based thorax and lumbar angle measurements when compared with retro-reflective motion capture.

 Magneto-inertial measurement unit (MIMU) systems allow calculation of simple sensor-to-sensor Euler angles, though this process does not address sensor-to-segment alignment, which is important for deriving meaningful MIMU-based kinematics. Functional sensor-to-segment calibrations have improved concurrent validity for elbow and knee angle measurements but have not yet been comprehensively investigated for trunk or sport-specific movements. This study aimed to determine the influence of MIMU functional calibration on thorax and lumbar joint angles during uni-planar and multi-planar, sport-specific tasks.

Clinical and molecular associations with outcomes at 2 years after acute knee injury: a longitudinal study in the Knee Injury Cohort at the Kennedy (KICK).

Background: Joint injury is a major risk factor for osteoarthritis and provides an opportunity to prospectively examine early processes associated with osteoarthritis. We investigated whether predefined baseline demographic and clinical factors, and protein analytes in knee synovial fluid and in plasma or serum, were associated with clinically relevant outcomes at 2 years after knee injury.

Methods: This longitudinal cohort study recruited individuals aged 16-50 years between Nov 1, 2010, and Nov 28, 2014, across six hospitals and clinics in London, UK.