Category: Nevin Manimala

Clin Neuroradiol. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1007/s00062-023-01320-z. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The 3D time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) at 3T shows high sensitivity for intracranial aneurysms but is inferior to three-dimensional digital subtraction angiography (3D-DSA) regarding aneurysm characteristics. We applied an ultra-high-resolution (UHR) TOF-MRA using compressed sensing reconstruction to investigate the diagnostic performance in preinterventional evaluation of intracranial aneurysms compared to conventional TOF-MRA and 3D-DSA.

METHODS: In this study 17 patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms were included. Aneurysm dimensions, configuration, image quality and sizing of endovascular devices were compared between conventional TOF-MRA at 3T and UHR-TOF with 3D-DSA as gold standard. Quantitatively, contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were compared between TOF-MRAs.

RESULTS: On 3D-DSA, 25 aneurysms in 17 patients were detected. On conventional TOF, 23 aneurysms were detected (sensitivity: 92.6%). On UHR-TOF, 25 aneurysms were detected (sensitivity: 100%). Image quality was not significantly different between TOF and UHR-TOF (p = 0.17). Aneurysm dimension measurements were significantly different between conventional TOF (3.89 mm) and 3D-DSA (4.2 mm, p = 0.08) but not between UHR-TOF (4.12 mm) and 3D-DSA (p = 0.19). Irregularities and small vessels at the aneurysm neck were more frequently correctly depicted on UHR-TOF compared to conventional TOF. Comparison of the planned framing coil diameter and flow-diverter (FD) diameter revealed neither a statistically significant difference between TOF and 3D-DSA (coil p = 0.19, FD p = 0.45) nor between UHR-TOF and 3D-DSA (coil: p = 0.53, FD 0.33). The CNR was significantly higher in conventional TOF (p = 0.009).

CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, ultra-high-resolution TOF-MRA visualized all aneurysms and accurately depicted aneurysm irregularities and vessels at the base of the aneurysm comparably to DSA, outperforming conventional TOF. UHR-TOF with compressed sensing reconstruction seems to represent a non-invasive alternative to pre-interventional DSA for intracranial aneurysms.

PMID:37401949 | DOI:10.1007/s00062-023-01320-z

Clin Neuroradiol. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1007/s00062-023-01315-w. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: There is a growing interest in performing coronary artery and neurovascular interventions via the radial artery; however, few studies have examined the outcomes of transradial carotid stenting. Therefore, our study aimed to compare cerebrovascular outcomes and crossover rates in carotid stenting between transradial and traditional transfemoral approaches.

METHODS: A systematic review was performed by searching three electronic databases from inception to June 2022 in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. In addition, random effect meta-analysis was used to pool the odds ratios (ORs) for stroke, transient ischemic attack, major adverse cardiac events, death, major vascular access site complications, and procedure crossover rates between the transradial and transfemoral approaches.

RESULTS: A total of 6 studies were included involving a total of n = 567 transradial and n = 6176 transfemoral procedures. The ORs for stroke, transient ischemic attack, and major adverse cardiac events were 1.43 (95% confidence interval, CI 0.72-2.86, I² = 0), 0.51 (95% CI 0.17-1.54, I² = 0), and 1.08 (95% CI 0.62-1.86, I² = 0), respectively. Neither the major vascular access site complication rate (OR 1.11, 95% CI 0.32-3.87, I² = 0) nor crossover rate (OR 3.94, 95% CI 0.62-25.11, I² = 57%) showed statistically significant differences between the two approaches.

CONCLUSION: The modest quality of the data suggested comparable procedural outcomes between the transradial and transfemoral approaches when performing carotid stenting; however, high level evidence regarding postoperative brain images and risk of stroke in transradial carotid stenting are lacking. Therefore, it is reasonable for interventionists to weigh up the risks of neurological events and potential benefits, including fewer access site complications, before choosing the radial or femoral arteries as access sites. Future large-scale randomized controlled trials are imperative.

PMID:37401948 | DOI:10.1007/s00062-023-01315-w

Cogn Sci. 2023 Jul;47(7):e13309. doi: 10.1111/cogs.13309.

ABSTRACT

Humans can attribute beliefs to others. However, it is unknown to what extent this ability results from an innate biological endowment or from experience accrued through child development, particularly exposure to language describing others’ mental states. We test the viability of the language exposure hypothesis by assessing whether models exposed to large quantities of human language display sensitivity to the implied knowledge states of characters in written passages. In pre-registered analyses, we present a linguistic version of the False Belief Task to both human participants and a large language model, GPT-3. Both are sensitive to others’ beliefs, but while the language model significantly exceeds chance behavior, it does not perform as well as the humans nor does it explain the full extent of their behavior-despite being exposed to more language than a human would in a lifetime. This suggests that while statistical learning from language exposure may in part explain how humans develop the ability to reason about the mental states of others, other mechanisms are also responsible.

PMID:37401923 | DOI:10.1111/cogs.13309

J Phys Chem A. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpca.3c03077. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The bimolecular gas-phase reactions of the phenylethynyl radical (C₆H₅CC, X²A₁) with allene (H₂CCCH₂), allene-d₄ (D₂CCCD₂), and methylacetylene (CH₃CCH) were studied under single-collision conditions utilizing the crossed molecular beams technique and merged with electronic structure and statistical calculations. The phenylethynyl radical was found to add without an entrance barrier to the C1 carbon of the allene and methylacetylene reactants, resulting in doublet C₁₁H₉ collision complexes with lifetimes longer than their rotational periods. These intermediates underwent unimolecular decomposition via atomic hydrogen loss through tight exit transition states in facile radical addition─hydrogen atom elimination mechanisms forming predominantly 3,4-pentadien-1-yn-1-ylbenzene (C₆H₅CCCHCCH₂) and 1-phenyl-1,3-pentadiyne (C₆H₅CCCCCH₃) in overall exoergic reactions (-110 kJ mol^-1 and -130 kJ mol^-1) for the phenylethynyl-allene and phenylethynyl-methylacetylene systems, respectively. These barrierless reaction mechanisms mirror those of the ethynyl radical (C₂H, X²Σ⁺) with allene and methylacetylene forming predominantly ethynylallene (HCCCHCCH₂) and methyldiacetylene (HCCCCCH₃), respectively, suggesting that in the aforementioned reactions the phenyl group acts as a spectator. These molecular mass growth processes are accessible in low-temperature environments such as cold molecular clouds (TMC-1) or Saturn’s moon Titan, efficiently incorporating a benzene ring into unsaturated hydrocarbons.

PMID:37401904 | DOI:10.1021/acs.jpca.3c03077

Int J Adolesc Med Health. 2023 Jul 3. doi: 10.1515/ijamh-2023-0041. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine the self-efficacy and healthy lifestyle behavior levels in adolescents with asthma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Socio-demographic questionnaire form, questions about adherence to asthma medication, asthma control test, healthy lifestyle behaviors scale, and self-efficacy scale for children and adolescents with asthma were administered to 150 patients whom age range between 12-18, in follow up with asthma in the pediatric allergy outpatient clinic.

RESULTS: There was no statistically significant relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors scale and self-efficacy scale scores between adolescents with controlled and uncontrolled asthma. When patients were grouped regarding the treatment compliance, both healthy lifestyle behaviors scale and asthma self-efficacy scale scores were found to be higher in patients with treatment compliance. When the patients were grouped on the basis of gender, regular follow-up visits, and smoking, there was no significant difference between healthy lifestyle behaviors and self-efficacy scale scores.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings showed us the importance of the relationship between healthy living and adolescent self-efficacy in adherence to treatment, while there are many more components in asthma control.

PMID:37401610 | DOI:10.1515/ijamh-2023-0041

Br J Math Stat Psychol. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1111/bmsp.12314. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The paper proposes a novel model assessment paradigm aiming to address shortcoming of posterior predictive $p$ -values, which provide the default metric of fit for Bayesian structural equation modelling (BSEM). The model framework presented in the paper focuses on the approximate zero approach (Psychological Methods, 17, 2012, 313), which involves formulating certain parameters (such as factor loadings) to be approximately zero through the use of informative priors, instead of explicitly setting them to zero. The introduced model assessment procedure monitors the out-of-sample predictive performance of the fitted model, and together with a list of guidelines we provide, one can investigate whether the hypothesised model is supported by the data. We incorporate scoring rules and cross-validation to supplement existing model assessment metrics for BSEM. The proposed tools can be applied to models for both continuous and binary data. The modelling of categorical and non-normally distributed continuous data is facilitated with the introduction of an item-individual random effect. We study the performance of the proposed methodology via simulation experiments as well as real data on the ‘Big-5’ personality scale and the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence.

PMID:37401608 | DOI:10.1111/bmsp.12314

Int J STD AIDS. 2023 Jul 4:9564624231173029. doi: 10.1177/09564624231173029. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The majority of people living with HIV in our country are younger men. However, limited data exist for the sexual health of these patients. Knowledge of the epidemiology in this population may improve health outcomes across the continuum of HIV care. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) and its association with some clinical and laboratory factors.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using random sampling in men living with HIV (MLWH) at a tertiary hospital in Turkey. Patients were asked to fill out the five-item International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5), and blood was collected for HIV viral load, CD4⁺ T lymphocyte count, lipids and hormone levels to assess biological aspects at the same clinical visit.

RESULTS: A total of 107 MLWH were recruited. Mean age was 40.4 ± 12.4 years. ED was found in 73.8% (n = 79) of the participants. Severe ED was found in 6.3%, moderate in 5.1%, mild-moderate 35.4%, mild 53.2% of the participants, respectively. The mean age of men with erectile dysfunction was 42.5 ± 12.5 years, while those without erectile dysfunction were 34.5 ± 10 years (p:0.00). ED was detected more frequently in cases with high Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) levels (p:0.003). There was no statistically significant difference between ED presence and having hormone abnormality. There was a moderate, negative correlation between age and ED score (r: -0.440, p < 0.001). A negative and low correlation was found between triglyceride level and ED score (r: -0.233, p:0.02). The only predictive variable was age in the multivariate analysis [B: -0.155 (95% CI -0.232 to -0.078), p: <0.001].

CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed a high prevalence of ED in the MLWH cohort. Age was found to be the only factor associated with ED. HIV clinicians should consider routine ED screening with validated measures as a part of the follow-up scheme to improve integrated wellbeing in MLWH.

PMID:37401573 | DOI:10.1177/09564624231173029

Expert Rev Mol Diagn. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1080/14737159.2023.2233415. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive prenatal screening (NIPS) in screening for copy number variations (CNVs).

METHODS: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis by combining our study results with those reported in other articles. We retrospectively collected the data of pregnant women with NIPS testing in the Hangzhou Women’s Hospital from December 2019 to February 2022. Simultaneously, a systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science was carried out to identify all relevant peer-reviewed publications. Statistical analysis was performed based on the random-effects model to determine a pooled estimate of the positive predictive value (PPV).

RESULTS: A total of 29 studies involving 2,667 women were included for analysis. The pooled PPV of NIPS in the detection of CNVs was 32.86% (95% confidence interval [24.61-41.64]). Statistical heterogeneity was high, while no significant publication bias was found in this meta-analysis. There were insufficient data to determine sensitivity and specificity accurately, as most studies only performed confirmatory tests on high-risk women.

CONCLUSIONS: The PPV of NIPS in screening for CNVs was approximately 33%. Cautions should be kept in mind for the pretest guidance and subsequent after-test counseling when offering such genome-wide NIPS tests.

PMID:37401569 | DOI:10.1080/14737159.2023.2233415

J Ultrasound Med. 2023 Jul 4. doi: 10.1002/jum.16296. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: In high-BMI patients with and without fatty liver, we evaluate performance of a commercially available specially designed ultrasound probe (SDP) for scanning at depth. Greyscale and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) capability of SDP for parenchymal assessment and liver mass characterization, emphasizing HCC, is compared with standard curvilinear probes.

METHODS: This retrospective study included 60 patients. Fifty-five with measured BMI included 46/55 (84%) overweight or obese, and 9/55(16%) in the normal range with severe fatty liver. Fifty-six patients with focal liver abnormality included 37 with a mass and 19 with post-ablative treatment site. Masses included 23 confirmed malignancies, 15 HCC, 4 ICC, and 4 metastases. SDP followed suboptimal ultrasound using a standard probe. Images with varying fat content were compared for depth of penetration on greyscale and ability of CEUS to diagnose tumors.

RESULTS: SDP showed statistically significant improvement P = <.05 in CEUS penetration for all degrees of fatty liver (mild, moderate, and severe). In malignant tumors, SDP improved detection of lesion washout in the portal venous/late phase (PVP/LP) at depth >10 cm, and in all malignant masses (P < .05). Fifteen confirmed deep HCC showed arterial phase hyperenhancement on standard probe in 10/15 (67%) and 15/15 (100%) on SDP. PVP/LP washout on standard probe was shown in 4/15 (26%) and on SDP, 14/15, (93%). Therefore, 93% of LR-5 tumors were diagnosed with SDP. Removing necessity for biopsy.

CONCLUSIONS: Metabolic syndrome and obesity challenge ultrasound, especially CEUS. SDP overcame limitations of standard probes for CEUS penetration especially in fatty liver. SDP was optimal for the liver mass characterization by detecting washout.

PMID:37401549 | DOI:10.1002/jum.16296

Eur J Cancer Prev. 2023 Jul 3. doi: 10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000829. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Here we report clinical risk factors and event rates for the development of new non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of the irreversible ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) inhibitor, difluromethylornithine (DFMO), over a 3-5-year follow-up.

METHODS: 147 placebo patients (white; mean age 60.2 years; 60% male) were evaluated for event rates and association of initial skin biomarkers and baseline patient characteristics with the development of squamous cell (SCC) and basal cell (BCC) carcinomas.

RESULTS: Post-study evaluation (median follow-up 4.4 years) indicates the measures of prior NMSCs (P ≤ 0.001), prior BCCs (P ≤ 0.001), prior SCCs (P = 0.011), prior tumor rate (P = 0.002), hemoglobin (P = 0.022), and gender (P = 0.045) as significant predictors for new NMSC development. Similarly, all measures of prior BCCs and NMSCs (P < 0.001), prior tumor rate (P = 0.014), and SCCs in the prior 2 years (P = 0.047) were statistically significant predictors for new BCC development. Total prior NMSCs and those in the prior 5 years (P < 0.001), total prior SCCs and those in the prior 5 years (P < 0.001), total prior BCCs and those in the prior 5 years (P ≤ 0.001), prior tumor rate (P = 0.011) as well as age (P = 0.008), hemoglobin (P = 0.002), and gender (P = 0.003) were statistically significant predictors of new SCC development. TPA-induced ODC activity at baseline showed no statistically significant association with the development of new NMSC (P = 0.35), new BCCs (P = 0.62), or new SCCs (P = 0.25).

CONCLUSION: In the studied population, the history of and rate at which prior NMSCs occur are predictive and should be controlled for in future NMSC prevention trials.

PMID:37401516 | DOI:10.1097/CEJ.0000000000000829