Category: Nevin Manimala

Semin Ophthalmol. 2022 Aug 7:1-9. doi: 10.1080/08820538.2022.2108717. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to provide an overview of reported cases of poppers maculopathy and a statistical analysis of the clinical presentations, anatomical changes and treatment and follow-up of the rare disease.

METHODS: A systematic search of CINAHL, Embase and PubMed databases was conducted, including a search of the grey literature. Data were pooled to provide a summary of the clinical characteristics and outcomes of poppers maculopathy. Studies were critically appraised using the Joanna Briggs Institute or the Authority, Accuracy, Coverage, Objectivity, Date, Significance checklists.

RESULTS: Of the 493 articles obtained, 32 were included, consisting of 113 participants with a mean age of 40.2. Most patients were male with bilateral maculopathy and presented with either vision loss or a visual disturbance. Cessation of popper use was the most common form of management prescribed. The mean VA at baseline was 0.22 (logMAR units). For those followed-up, the mean VA significantly improved from 0.24 to 0.11 (Z = -5.800, p = <0.001). Bilateral yellow foveal spots were viewed on fundoscopy in 53 patients, and a sub-foveal disturbance of the ellipsoid layer was reported on spectral domain optical coherence tomography in 89 patients. By 6 months, SD-OCT anatomical changes mostly improved or resolved.

CONCLUSION: Recreational users of poppers who develop maculopathy generally present with vision loss or a visual disturbance secondary to foveal disruption. Patients have a good visual prognosis, with cessation of poppers potentially having a role in improved outcomes. With the high prevalence of use among gay and bisexual men, awareness of related maculopathy and presenting symptoms by clinicians is important to mitigate side effects.

PMID:35938499 | DOI:10.1080/08820538.2022.2108717

J Pharm Pract. 2022 Aug 7:8971900221118232. doi: 10.1177/08971900221118232. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Chronic care management (CCM) can significantly impact the management of chronic diseases in rural patient populations. To date, few practice models have addressed its impact on clinical outcomes and access to care in rural practice settings.

OBJECTIVE: Implement a sustainable pharmacist-led CCM practice model while tracking clinical outcomes and healthcare access at a rural, medically underserved family medicine clinic.

METHODS: This study retrospectively examined data from the clinic’s CCM program from October 2020 through May 2021 and included total clinical encounters at three- and 6-months intervals, as well as changes in clinical outcomes like A1c and systolic blood pressure (SBP) at three- and 6-months intervals.

RESULTS: Over an 8-month period, 46 patients were enrolled in pharmacist-led CCM services. Those with a CCM encounter or office visit within 3 months of enrollment showed a mean A1c reduction of 1.07% after 3 months (95% CI -1.70 to -.44, P = .0016), while those with an encounter or office visit within 6 months of enrollment displayed a mean A1c reduction of 1.64% after 6 months (95% CI -2.35 to -.92, P < .001). There was a 73.8% increase in total clinical encounters in the 6 months after CCM enrollment compared to the 6 months preceding it, signifying increased access to care.

CONCLUSION: Patients with CCM encounters or office visits within the first 3-6 months experienced statistically significant reductions in A1c. Moreover, total clinical encounters markedly increased in the 6 months after enrollment, allowing for more frequent engagement between ambulatory pharmacists and traditionally challenging rural patients.

PMID:35938485 | DOI:10.1177/08971900221118232

J Sep Sci. 2022 Aug 8. doi: 10.1002/jssc.202200222. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Hawthorn and its derived products are used worldwide as foods as well as complementary medicine. During the preparation of hawthorn, heating and thermal processing are frequently reported. The thermal processing will change the medicinal purposes and modify the efficacy of hawthorn. However, details including the chemical profile shifting and quality markers of heat-processed hawthorn have not been well understood. In the paper, we analyzed the hawthorn samples processed at different temperatures and different times by ultraviolet visible absorption spectrum and LC-MS technologies combined with multivariate statistical analysis. It was revealed for the first time that thermal processing could greatly change the ultraviolet visible absorption spectra and chemical profiles of hawthorn even with heat treatment at 130°C for 10 minutes. And the ultraviolet visible absorption spectrum, especially the ratio value (R_{A500 nm/400 nm} ), was a descriptive and qualitative indicator of heating degree for the thermal processing at the macroscopic level. Several components, such as hyperoside, chlorogenic acid, quercetin and apigenin, decreased or increased in content during the processing, and they could be utilized as the chemical quality markers. The proposed quality markers for heat-processed hawthorn will be helpful for further optimizing the processing conditions of hawthorn. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

PMID:35938469 | DOI:10.1002/jssc.202200222

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2022 Aug 8. doi: 10.1039/d2cp01811j. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Charge-transfer plasmons (CTP) in complexes of metal nanoparticles bridged by conductive molecular linkers are theoretically analysed using a statistic approach. The applied model takes into account the kinetic energy of carriers inside the linkers including its dissipation and the Coulomb energy of the charged nanoparticles. The plasmons are statistically investigated for systems containing a large number of complexes of bridged nanoparticles of realistic sizes generated using a simplified molecular dynamics algorithm, where the geometries of the complexes are dependent on the rate of connection of the linkers with the nanoparticles. As illustrated, the distribution of CTP frequencies in the generated nanoparticle complexes is very inhomogeneous. It has a narrow peak, corresponding to CTP plasmons in dimers, and two broad peaks, corresponding mainly to low and high-frequency oscillations in chains of connected nanoparticles. It is found that in general the plasmon frequencies depend inversely on the value of the complex dipole moment of the plasmon oscillation, where the assumption follows that low-frequency plasmons will be more efficiently excited in an external electromagnetic field. To calculate the CTP energy absorption in this field two model modifications are proposed: a system-external electromagnetic field interaction model and a simplified broadening plasmon peak model where the plasmons are calculated at first without damping and where the delta-shaped oscillation peaks are broadened then due to the damping. It is demonstrated that both modifications lead to a wide and almost monotonic absorption in the IR region for all generated systems containing a large number of bridged nanoparticles due to the presence of a large number of CTPs in this region.

PMID:35938445 | DOI:10.1039/d2cp01811j

Laterality. 2022 Aug 6:1-34. doi: 10.1080/1357650X.2022.2109656. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The developmental origins of handedness remain elusive, though very early emergence suggests individual differences manifesting in utero could play an important role. Prenatal testosterone and Vitamin D exposure are considered, yet findings and interpretations remain equivocal. We examined n = 767 offspring from a population-based pregnancy cohort (The Raine Study) for whom early biological data and childhood/adolescent handedness data were available. We tested whether 18-week maternal circulatory Vitamin D (25[OH]D), and testosterone and estradiol from umbilical cord blood sampled at birth predicted variance in direction of hand preference (right/left), along with right- and left-hand speed, and the strength and direction of relative hand skill as measured by a finger-tapping task completed at 10 (Y10) and/or 16 (Y16) years. Although higher concentrations of Vitamin D predicted more leftward and less lateralized (regardless of direction) relative hand skill profiles, taken as a whole, statistically significant findings typically did not replicate across time-point (Y10/Y16) or sex (male/female) and were rarely detected across different (bivariate/multivariate) levels of analysis. Considering the number of statistical tests and generally inconsistent findings, our results suggest that perinatal testosterone and estradiol contribute minimally, if at all, to subsequent variance in handedness. Vitamin D, however, may be of interest in future studies.

PMID:35938410 | DOI:10.1080/1357650X.2022.2109656

Glob Public Health. 2022 Aug 7:1-13. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2022.2105377. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Sex workers face different types of sex work-related stigma, which may include anticipated, perceived, experienced, or internalized stigma. Sex work stigma can discourage health care seeking and hamper STI and HIV prevention and treatment efforts. There is a paucity of validated sex work-related stigma measures, and this limits the ability to study the stigma associated with sex work. A cross-sectional survey was conducted that measured anticipated sex work-related stigma among male and female sex workers in Kenya (N = 729). We examined the construct validity and reliability of the anticipated stigma items to establish a conceptually and statistically valid scale. Our analysis supported a 15-item scale measuring five anticipated sex work stigma domains: gossip and verbal abuse from family; gossip and verbal abuse from healthcare workers; gossip and verbal abuse from friends and community; physical abuse; and exclusion. The scale demonstrated good face, content, and construct validity. Reliability was good for all subscales and the overall scale. The scale demonstrated good model fit statistics and good standardized factor loadings. The availability of valid and reliable stigma measures will enhance efforts to characterize and address stigma among sex workers and ultimately support the protection, health and well-being of this vulnerable population.

PMID:35938397 | DOI:10.1080/17441692.2022.2105377

Account Res. 2022 Aug 7. doi: 10.1080/08989621.2022.2110866. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Plagiarism is widely regarded as an issue of low- and middle-income countries because of several factors such as the lack of ethics policy and poor research training. In Morocco, plagiarism and its perception by academics has not been investigated on a large scale. In this study, we evaluated different aspects of plagiarism among students and researchers in all public universities of Morocco based on a 23-questions cross-sectional survey. Factors associated with plagiarism were explored using contingency tables and logistic regression. The survey results covered all public universities (n=12) and included 1,220 responses from undergraduate students (31.4%), followed by PhD students (26.6%), scientific graduates (19%), PhD holders and postdoctoral fellows (12.2%), and lastly university professors (10.7%). The academic level was highly significantly associated with plagiarism (p<0.001). Most respondents that committed plagiarism were respectively scientific graduates (58.2%), PhD students (44.6%), PhD holders and postdoctoral fellows (37.6%), and finally university professors (28.2%). Having publication records was statistically associated with a reduced plagiarism (p=0.002). Notably, the ability of participants to correctly define plagiarism was also highly significantly associated with a reduced plagiarism misconduct (p<0.001 for all). Unintentional plagiarism (p<0.001), time constraint to write an original text (p<0.001), and inability of participants to paraphrase (p<0.001) were associated factors of Moroccan scholars with plagiarism. Moreover, participants that considered plagiarism as a serious issue in academic research had significantly committed less plagiarism (p<0.001). The current study showed that various actionable factors associated with plagiarism can be targeted by educational interventions, and therefore, it provided the rationale to build training programs on research integrity in Morocco.

PMID:35938392 | DOI:10.1080/08989621.2022.2110866

Genet Epidemiol. 2022 Aug 8. doi: 10.1002/gepi.22495. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Polygenic risk scores quantify the individual genetic predisposition regarding a particular trait. We propose and illustrate the application of existing statistical learning methods to derive sparser models for genome-wide data with a polygenic signal. Our approach is based on three consecutive steps. First, potentially informative loci are identified by a marginal screening approach. Then, fine-mapping is independently applied for blocks of variants in linkage disequilibrium, where informative variants are retrieved by using variable selection methods including boosting with probing and stochastic searches with the Adaptive Subspace method. Finally, joint prediction models with the selected variants are derived using statistical boosting. In contrast to alternative approaches relying on univariate summary statistics from genome-wide association studies, our three-step approach enables to select and fit multivariable regression models on large-scale genotype data. Based on UK Biobank data, we develop prediction models for LDL-cholesterol as a continuous trait. Additionally, we consider a recent scalable algorithm for the Lasso. Results show that statistical learning approaches based on fine-mapping of genetic signals result in a competitive prediction performance compared to classical polygenic risk approaches, while yielding sparser risk models.

PMID:35938382 | DOI:10.1002/gepi.22495

J Gastric Cancer. 2022 Jul;22(3):220-234. doi: 10.5230/jgc.2022.22.e25.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The incidence of adenocarcinoma of the esophagogastric junction (AEG) has increased in recent years, and the optimal surgical strategy for AEG remains highly controversial. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction (PG-DT) for the treatment of patients with AEG.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patients with Siewert type II/III AEG between January 2013 and July 2018. Clinicopathological characteristics, survival, surgical outcomes, quality of life (QOL), and nutritional status were compared between the PG-DT and total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis (TG-RY) groups.

RESULTS: After propensity score matching, 33 patients in each group were analyzed. There were no statistical differences between the 2 groups in terms of disease-free survival and overall survival. The surgical option was not an independent prognostic factor based on the multivariate analysis. In addition, no differences were found in terms of surgical complications. There were no significant differences in QOL assessed by the Visick grade, Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale, or endoscopic findings. Furthermore, the long-term nutritional advantage of the PG-DT group was significantly greater than that of the TG-RY group.

CONCLUSIONS: PG-DT is a safe and effective procedure for patients with local Siewert type II/III AEG, regardless of the TNM stage.

PMID:35938368 | DOI:10.5230/jgc.2022.22.e25

J Gastric Cancer. 2022 Jul;22(3):160-168. doi: 10.5230/jgc.2022.22.e21.

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the trends of gastric cancer in Korea by adding the latest updated gastric cancer data from 2019. Gastric cancer incidence between 1999 and 2019 was reviewed using data from the Korea Central Cancer Registry. The study period was divided into 3 periods: period I (1999-2005), period II (2006-2012), and period III (2013-2019). The incidence, mortality, tumor location, histology, stage, and treatment were analyzed. Between 1999 and 2019, 577,502 patients were newly diagnosed with gastric cancer in Korea, accounting for 33.2% of patients aged ≥70 years. The age-standardized incidence rate (per 100,000) significantly decreased from 2011 (43.0) to 2019 (29.6), with an annual percent change of -4.50. Additionally, the age-standardized mortality rate (per 100,000) markedly decreased from 1999 (23.9) to 2019 (6.7). The proportions of patients with cardia and fundus cancers remained consistent. The proportion of localized stage cases increased, while those of regional and distant stages decreased. The rate of surgical treatment increased in localized and regional stages from 2006 to 2019. The overall 5-year relative survival (5YRS) rate of gastric cancer (per 100,000) increased from 55.7% in period I to 77.0% in period III. From 2013 to 2019, the 5YRS rates of patients (per 100,000) who underwent surgical treatment were 100.6% and 70.5% in the localized and regional stages, respectively. The results of this study demonstrated several changes in the epidemiology of gastric cancer in Korea. This study provides information to help understand the current trends in gastric cancer in Korea.

PMID:35938363 | DOI:10.5230/jgc.2022.22.e21