Category: Nevin Manimala

Q J Exp Psychol (Hove). 2023 Apr 21:17470218231172908. doi: 10.1177/17470218231172908. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Syntactic adaptation has been shown to occur for various temporarily ambiguous structures wherein an initially unexpected resolution becomes easier to process after repeated exposure. More controversial and less replicated is the claim that this adaptation toward a locally frequent structure occurs due to a strategic shifting of expectations to match short-term statistical regularities such that readers adapt away from the a priori more frequent structure. Experiment 1 replicates the initial adaptation toward a coordination garden path structure and away from a compound NP structure using self-paced reading; however, this paradigm has been criticized for its low reliability for detecting such small effects. To this end, Experiments 2 and 3 use a combination of self-paced reading and sentence completion tasks to replicate initial adaptation toward both coordination and reduced relative garden path structures and show evidence for a preference for these structures over their a priori more frequent alternatives. Together, these data reveal that participants may be tracking local structural statistics in real-time; however, they may not be able to rapidly use that information to update processing behaviors.

PMID:37082989 | DOI:10.1177/17470218231172908

Hypertension. 2023 Apr 21. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.20900. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey are freely available and can be analyzed to produce hypertension statistics for the noninstitutionalized US population. The analysis of these data requires statistical programming expertise and knowledge of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey methodology.

METHODS: We developed a web-based application that provides hypertension statistics for US adults using 10 cycles of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, 1999 to 2000 through 2017 to 2020. We validated the application by reproducing results from prior publications. The application’s interface allows users to estimate crude and age-adjusted means, quantiles, and proportions. Population counts can also be estimated. To demonstrate the application’s capabilities, we estimated hypertension statistics for noninstitutionalized US adults.

RESULTS: The estimated mean systolic blood pressure (BP) declined from 123 mm Hg in 1999 to 2000 to 120 mm Hg in 2009 to 2010 and increased to 123 mm Hg in 2017 to 2020. The age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension (ie, systolic BP≥130 mm Hg, diastolic BP≥80 mm Hg or self-reported antihypertensive medication use) was 47.9% in 1999 to 2000, 43.0% in 2009 to 2010, and 44.7% in 2017 to 2020. In 2017 to 2020, an estimated 115.3 million US adults had hypertension. The age-adjusted prevalence of controlled BP, defined by the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association BP guideline, among nonpregnant US adults with hypertension was 9.7% in 1999 to 2000, 25.0% in 2013 to 2014, and 21.9% in 2017 to 2020. After age adjustment and among nonpregnant US adults who self-reported taking antihypertensive medication, 27.5%, 48.5%, and 43.0% had controlled BP in 1999 to 2000, 2013 to 2014, and 2017 to 2020, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: The application developed in the current study is publicly available and produced valid, transparent, and reproducible results.

PMID:37082970 | DOI:10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.20900

Brain. 2023 Apr 21:awad135. doi: 10.1093/brain/awad135. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Amyloid-beta is hypothesized to facilitate the spread of tau pathology beyond the medial temporal lobe. However, there is evidence that, independently of amyloid-beta, age-related tau pathology might be present outside of the medial temporal lobe. We therefore aimed to study age-related amyloid-beta-independent tau deposition outside the medial temporal lobe in two large cohorts and to investigate potential downstream effects of this on cognition and structural measures. We included 545 cognitively unimpaired adults (40-92 years) from the BioFINDER-2 study (in vivo) and 639 (64-108 years) from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center cohorts (ex vivo). [18F]RO948- and [18F]flutemetamol-PET standardized uptake value ratios were calculated for regional tau and global/regional Aβ in vivo. Immunohistochemistry was used to estimate amyloid-beta load and tangle density ex vivo. In vivo medial temporal lobe volumes (subiculum, cornu ammonis 1) and cortical thickness (entorhinal cortex, Brodmann area 35) were obtained using Automated Segmentation for Hippocampal Subfields packages. Thickness of early and late neocortical Alzheimer’s disease regions was determined using FreeSurfer. Global cognition and episodic memory were estimated to quantify cognitive functioning. In vivo age-related tau deposition was observed in the medial temporal lobe and in frontal and parietal cortical regions, which was statistically significant when adjusting for amyloid-beta. This was also observed in individuals with low amyloid-beta load. Tau deposition was negatively associated with cortical volumes and thickness in temporal and parietal regions independently of amyloid-beta. The associations between age and cortical volume or thickness were partially mediated via tau in regions with early Alzheimer’s disease pathology, i.e., early tau and/or amyloid-beta pathology (subiculum/Brodmann area 35/precuneus/posterior cingulate). Finally, the associations between age and cognition were partially mediated via tau in Brodmann area 35, even when including amyloid-beta-PET as covariate. Results were validated in the ex vivo cohort showing age-related and amyloid-beta-independent increases in tau aggregates in and outside the medial temporal lobe. Ex vivo age-cognition associations were mediated by medial and inferior temporal tau tangle density, while correcting for amyloid-beta density. Taken together, our study provides support for Primary Age-related Tauopathy even outside the medial temporal lobe in vivo and ex vivo, with downstream effects on structure and cognition. These results have implications for our understanding of the spreading of tau outside the medial temporal lobe, also in the context of Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, this study suggests the potential utility of tau-targeting treatments in Primary Age-related Tauopathy, likely already in preclinical stages in individuals with low amyloid-beta pathology.

PMID:37082959 | DOI:10.1093/brain/awad135

Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2023 Apr 21. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEC.2023.0025. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to test the suitability of calcium phosphate cement mixed with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid microparticles (CPC-PLGA) into a ring-shaped polymeric space-maintaining device as bone graft material for lateral bone augmentation. Therefore, the bone chambers were installed on the lateral portion of the anterior region of the mandibular body of mini-pigs. Chambers were filled with either calcium phosphate cement mixed with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid microparticles (CPC-PLGA) or BioOss® particles for comparison and left for 4 and 12 weeks. Histology and histomorphometry were used to obtain temporal insight in material degradation and bone formation. Results indicated that between 4 and 12 weeks of implantation, a significant degradation of the CPC-PLGA (from 75.1% to 23.1%) as well as BioOss® material occurred (from 40.6% to 14.4%). Degradation of both materials was associated with the presence of macrophage-like and osteoclast-like cells. Further, a significant increase in bone formation occurred between 4 and 12 weeks for the CPC-PLGA (from 0.1% to 7.2%) as well as BioOss® material (from 8.3% to 23.3%). Statistical analysis showed that bone formation had progressed significantly better using BioOss® compared to CPC-PLGA (p<0.05). In conclusion, this mini-pig study showed that CPC-PLGA does not stimulate lateral bone augmentation using a bone chamber device. Both treatments failed to achieve “clinically” meaningful alveolar ridge augmentation.

PMID:37082957 | DOI:10.1089/ten.TEC.2023.0025

J Neurotrauma. 2023 Apr 21. doi: 10.1089/neu.2022.0433. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Early triage and treatment after TBI have been shown to improve outcome. However, identifying patients at risk for increased intracranial pressure (ICP) via baseline computed tomography (CT) has not previously been validated in a prospective dataset. We hypothesized that acute CT findings of elevated ICP, combined with direct ICP measurement, hold prognostic value in terms of 6-month patient outcome after TBI. Data were obtained from the Progesterone for Traumatic Brain Injury, Experimental Clinical Treatment (ProTECTIII) multicenter clinical trial. Baseline CT scans for 881 participants were individually reviewed by a blinded central neuroradiologist. Five signs of elevated ICP were measured (sulcal obliteration, lateral ventricle compression, 3rd ventricle compression, midline shift, and herniation). Associations between signs of increased ICP and outcomes (6-month functional outcome and mortality) were assessed. Secondary analyses of 354 patients with recorded ICP monitoring data available explored the relationships between hemorrhage phenotype/anatomic location, sustained ICP ≥ 20mmHg, and surgical intervention(s). Univariate and multivariate logistic / linear regressions were performed; p<0.05 is defined as statistically significant. Imaging characteristics associated with ICP in this cohort include sulcal obliteration (p=0.029) and third ventricular compression (p=0.039). Univariate regression analyses indicated that increasing combinations of the five defined signs of elevated ICP were associated with mortality, poor functional outcome, and time to death. There was also an increased likelihood of mortality if patients required craniotomy (OR=4.318, 95% Confidence Interval [1.330-16.030]) or hemicraniectomy (OR=2.993 [1.109-8.482]). On multivariate regression analyses, hemorrhage location was associated with mortality (posterior fossa, OR=3.208 [1.120-9.188] and basal ganglia, OR=3.079 [1.178-8.077]). Volume of hemorrhage > 30cc was also associated with increased mortality, OR=3.702 [1.575-8.956]). The proportion of patient hours with sustained ICP ≥20 mmHg, and maximum ICP ≥20 mmHg, were also directly correlated with increased mortality (OR=64.99 [7.731-635.51]; and OR=1.025 [1.004-1.047]), but not with functional outcome. Poor functional outcome was predicted by concurrent presence of all five radiographic signs of elevated ICP (OR=4.44 [1.514-14.183]) and presence of frontal lobe (OR=2.951 [1.265-7.067]), subarachnoid (OR=2.231 [1.067-4.717]), or intraventricular (OR=2.249 [1.159-4.508]) hemorrhage. Time to death was modulated by total patient days of elevated ICP ≥20 mmHg (Effect Size = 3.424 [1.500, 5.439]) in the first two weeks of hospitalization. Sulcal obliteration and third ventricular compression, radiographic signs of elevated ICP, were significantly associated with measurements of ICP ≥20mmHg. These radiographic biomarkers were significantly associated with patient outcome. There is potential utility of ICP-related imaging variables in triage and prognostication for patients following moderate-severe TBI.

PMID:37082956 | DOI:10.1089/neu.2022.0433

Pediatr Dev Pathol. 2023 Apr 21:10935266231165636. doi: 10.1177/10935266231165636. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Rhabdomyosarcoma with TFCP2 rearrangement is a newly introduced spindle cell neoplasm showing predilection for craniofacial bones exhibiting highly aggressive nature and poor prognosis. Therefore, an attempt was made to delineate the entity for improved understanding and treatment outcomes through comprehensive analysis of the clinicopathological and molecular characteristics. An electronic search was carried out using MEDLINE by PubMed, Scopus, Google scholar, Cochrane library, and EMBASE databases. Original articles and case reports involving intraosseous rhabdomyosarcoma arising in head and neck region with TFCP2 fusion were included. Data were compiled and risk of bias was analyzed using JBI tool. Thirteen eligible articles were included for the quantitative analysis, which revealed 33 cases with TFCP2 fusion. Majority of the affected individuals were females (58%) with mandible being the common site. Most of the patients died within few months after diagnosis demonstrating a low mean survival rate (30 months). Odds ratio, overall survival and disease-free survival were calculated and analyzed statistically concluding that intraosseous rhabdomyosarcomas harboring TFCP2 fusion are found to be novel and dreadful neoplasms. The predilection for young age with poor prognosis exhibited by these lesions demand early diagnosis and specific treatment planning to curtail mortality.

PMID:37082926 | DOI:10.1177/10935266231165636

Pediatrics. 2023 Apr 21:e2022058729. doi: 10.1542/peds.2022-058729. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Cisgender girls and boys report trading sex for something of value at roughly equal proportions; yet, boys are understudied and underserved. We compare boys who reported trading sex to those who never traded sex to address this gap in knowledge and practice.

METHODS: The study is a secondary analysis of the Minnesota Student Survey, a triannual, census-style survey. The sample included 32 311 cisgender boy students in ninth and 11th grades who answered a question about sex trading. Bivariate descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic models were used to identify associated factors and determine the odds of trading sex on the basis of specific experiences.

RESULTS: We found that 1.2% of boys reported trading sex. In bivariate analyses, boys who reported trading sex were more likely than those who did not to: identify as Black or Indigenous; report a marginalized gender identity or sexual expression; have had sexual intercourse; have experienced sexual harassment and harassment on the basis of sexual identity and race, ethnicity, and national origin; and to have experienced homelessness, food insecurity, foster care, and substance treatment (P < .001). In multivariate models, we found increased odds of trading sex for some variables, including a marginalized sexual identity, identifying as Black, and experiences of unstable housing, foster care, substance treatment, sexual harassment, and harassment based on gender (P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS: These findings contribute new knowledge about boys who trade sex using a large, population-based sample and counter false assumptions and stereotypes. These data suggest new avenues of research, intervention, and prevention.

PMID:37082916 | DOI:10.1542/peds.2022-058729

Acta Otolaryngol. 2023 Apr 21:1-6. doi: 10.1080/00016489.2023.2200437. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Acquired cholesteatoma secondary to pars tensa perforation was rare in clinic.

OBJECTIVES: In this study, we explored factors related to acquired cholesteatoma in chronic otitis media patients with pars tensa perforation.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: 262 adults (296 ears) with pars tensa perforation were divided into four groups: anterior perforation group, posterior perforation group, central perforation group, and marginal perforation group. Analysis was carried out in terms of cholesteatoma formation, adhesion of perforation edges, mastoid pneumatization, and the function of eustachian tube.

RESULTS: Cholesteatoma was found in 34% (18 in 53 ears) in posterior perforation group, 14.3% (14 in 98 ears) in marginal perforation group, and 2.5% (2 in 80 ears) in anterior perforation group. For subjects with adhesion in perforation edges, cholesteatoma was approved in 94% of posterior perforation, 42% of marginal perforation and 25% of anterior perforation groups. The adhesion in perforation edges and function of eustachian tube instead of mastoid pneumatization were statistically significant for cholesteatoma formation.

CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: Acquired cholesteatoma was mostly found in patients with posterior and marginal perforation, followed by anterior perforation. Adhesion of perforation edges was another risk factor for cholesteatoma formation. Eustachian tube also functioned by influencing the ventilation of middle ear.

PMID:37082904 | DOI:10.1080/00016489.2023.2200437

Exp Dermatol. 2023 Apr 21. doi: 10.1111/exd.14814. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Despite recent developments in managing metastatic melanomas, patients’ overall survival remains low. Therefore, the current study aims to understand better the proteome-wide changes associated with melanoma metastasis that will assist with identifying targeted therapies. The latest development in mass spectrometry-based proteomics, together with extensive bioinformatics analysis, was used to investigate the molecular changes in 60 formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded samples of primary and lymph nodes (LN) and distant organ metastatic melanomas. A total of 4631 proteins were identified, of which 72 and 453 were significantly changed between the LN and distant organ metastatic melanomas compared to the primary lesions (adj. p-value <0.05). An increase in proteins such as SLC9A3R1, CD20 and GRB2 and a decrease in CST6, SERPINB5 and ARG1 were associated with regional LN metastasis. By contrast, increased metastatic activities in distant organ metastatic melanomas were related to higher levels of CEACAM1, MC1R, AKT1 and MMP3-9 and decreased levels of CDKN2A, SDC1 and SDC4 proteins. Furthermore, machine learning analysis classified the lesions with up to 92% accuracy based on their metastatic status. The findings from this study provide up to date proteome-level information about the progression of melanomas to regional LN and distant organs, leading to the identification of protein signatures with potential for clinical translation.

PMID:37082900 | DOI:10.1111/exd.14814

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2023 Apr 21. doi: 10.1039/d2cp05839a. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Using a hybrid simulation method that combines a non-linear conjugate gradient (NCG) method for solving large-scale unconstrained optimization problems with a Brownian dynamics (BD) model for polymer chains, we investigate the pre-equilibrium simulation of charged polymers in different dielectric systems from an energy minimization perspective. We propose an improved NCG coefficient (βLPRPk) that satisfies a sufficient descent condition with a greater parameter under a strong Wolfe line search and converges globally for nonconvex minimization. Furthermore, preliminary numerical results show that the βLPRPk coefficient is more efficient than many existing NCG coefficients for a large number of practical test problems from our model. We further compare the performance of the improved NCG method with that of other mainstream numerical methods in energy minimization, and the simulation results suggest that the NCG method is more competitive in terms of cost-effectiveness. Importantly, we apply the geometrically optimized configuration obtained by performing the NCG method to the pre-equilibrium simulation, and the numerical results show that it increases the computational efficiency of a pure solvent and biomolecule-solution systems at most by about 32 and 70 times, respectively, with the relative energy errors being controlled below 1 × 10^-2 and 4.5 × 10^-3, respectively. More importantly, the final pre-equilibrium configuration of the BD simulation that performs energy minimization and the traditional BD simulation matched closely.

PMID:37082884 | DOI:10.1039/d2cp05839a