Category: Nevin Manimala

Cardiol Young. 2022 Oct 6:1-6. doi: 10.1017/S1047951122003110. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Published guidelines for sports restriction for children with a bicuspid aortic valve remain controversial. We sought to describe practice variation and factors influencing sports restrictions in these children.

METHODS: This retrospective single-centre study included children (7-18 years old) with an isolated bicuspid aortic valve at baseline from 1 January, 2005 to 31 December, 2014. Sports restrictions, factors potentially influencing decision-making, and outcomes were collected. Descriptive statistics and multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression models were performed with providers and patients as random effects. Provider variation was estimated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Odds ratios, 95% confidence intervals, and p-values were reported from the models.

RESULTS: In 565 encounters (253 children; 34 providers), 41% recommended no sports restrictions, 40% recommended high-static and high-dynamic restrictions, and 19% had no documented recommendations. Based on published guidelines, 22% of children were inappropriately restricted while 30% were not appropriately restricted. The paediatric cardiology provider contributed to 37% of observed practice variation (p < 0.001). Sports restriction was associated with older age, males, greater ascending aorta z-score, and shorter follow-up interval. There were no aortic dissections or deaths and one cardiac intervention.

CONCLUSION: Physicians frequently fail to document sports restrictions for children with a bicuspid aortic valve, and documented recommendations often conflict with published guidelines. Despite this, no adverse outcomes occurred. Providers accounted for a significant proportion of the variation in sports restrictions. Further research to provide evidence-based guidelines may improve provider compliance with activity recommendations in this population.

PMID:36200342 | DOI:10.1017/S1047951122003110

Mol Ecol. 2022 Oct 6. doi: 10.1111/mec.16714. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Coastal refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum (~21 ka) have been hypothesized at high latitudes in the North Atlantic, suggesting marine populations persisted through cycles of glaciation and are potentially adapted to local environments. Here, whole-genome sequencing was used to test whether North Atlantic marine coastal populations of the kelp Alaria esculenta survived in the area of Southwestern Greenland during the Last Glacial Maximum. We present the first annotated genome for A. esculenta and call variant positions in 54 individuals from populations in Atlantic Canada, Greenland, Faroe Islands, Norway, and Ireland. Differentiation across populations was reflected in ~1.9 million single nucleotide polymorphisms, which further revealed mixed ancestry in the Faroe Islands individuals between putative Greenlandic and European lineages. Time calibrated organellar phylogenies suggested Greenlandic populations were established during the last interglacial period more than 100 ka ago, and that Faroe Islands were likely established following the Last Glacial Maximum. Patterns in population statistics, including nucleotide diversity, minor allele frequencies, heterozygosity, and linkage disequilibrium decay, nonetheless suggested glaciation reduced Canadian Atlantic and Greenlandic populations to small effective sizes during the most recent glaciation. Functional differentiation was further reflected in exon read coverage, which revealed expansions unique to Greenland in 337 exons representing 162 genes, and a modest degree of exon loss (103 exons from 56 genes). Altogether, our genomic results provide strong evidence that A. esculenta populations were resilient to past climatic fluctuations related to glaciations and that high latitude populations are potentially already adapted to local conditions as a result.

PMID:36200326 | DOI:10.1111/mec.16714

Photochem Photobiol. 2022 Oct 6. doi: 10.1111/php.13733. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Antarctic region is a place of increasing interest. A growing number of personnel are working outdoors in extreme environmental conditions. They receive significant exposure to solar Ultraviolet radiation and are thereby at increased risk of adverse consequences. The aim of this study was to evaluate the UVR dose received by the outdoor workers at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base. Ten Caucasian healthy subjects, 8 male and 2 female with a mean age of 38 years (29-51) were enrolled. Of them 5 were scientists and 5 were logistic workers. We measured the accumulated daily dose of UVR assessed by Standard Erythemal Dose in the two groups. All subjects wore personal dosimeters located near the face – the only non-covered skin area. The dosimeters were factory calibrated for use in the Antarctic region. No statistical difference (p=0.441) could be revealed between the SEDs in the two groups. The maximum UVR dose detected in a single day was 67.9 SEDs and the highest cumulative dose was 548.03 SEDs. Study results are showing extreme measurements of UVR received by the members of the expeditions. We suggest meticulous UV protection for outdoor workers.

PMID:36200321 | DOI:10.1111/php.13733

Adicciones. 2022 Oct 1;0(0):1783. doi: 10.20882/adicciones.1783. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The Covid19 pandemic has led to many publications about its influence on the treatment and evolution of individuals with a substance use disorder, leading to contradictory results. In this study, the adherence and abstinence rates of patients who started treatment in an Addictive Behavior Unit during the pandemic are analyzed, compared with others who attended the previous year and comparing those who were attended in person or by phone. The results indicate that during the Covid19 period, patients had greater adherence to treatment after one month of follow up and when attended to by phone. At 3 and 12 months, greater adherence was maintained, although it was not statistically significant. Regarding abstinence, the small sample size made it difficult to obtain significant differences. The conclusion is that, despite a quantitative decrease in the number of patients beginning drug treatment, in qualitative terms the pandemic led to greater adherence in the short and medium term. Telephone attention can play an important and positive role at this point, complementary to other resources and interventions.

PMID:36200234 | DOI:10.20882/adicciones.1783

Adicciones. 2022 Oct 1;0(0):1778. doi: 10.20882/adicciones.1778. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

One of the factors that increase the likelihood of adolescents starting to exhibit and consolidate anti-social behavior is drug use, with a consistent pattern of consumption of different substance found in young offenders (Aebi, Bessler & Steinhausen, 2021). A cognitive-behavioral group treatment program inspired by the positive psychology approach was developed and applied to drug use in minors deprived of liberty (experimental group); the results were compared to those of a group of adolescents with the same type of drug use in the same center (active control group) at two points in time: during and after incarceration. The fall in the rate of problems associated with drug use after incarceration in the experimental group was statistically significant compared to the control group, and the effect size of the experimental condition was large (ῆ^2 = 0.55), much higher than the control group (ῆ^2 = 0.16). The treatment program has proven to be an effective tool for reducing problems associated with drug use and is especially effective in reducing alcohol and cannabis consumption.

PMID:36200233 | DOI:10.20882/adicciones.1778

Adicciones. 2022 Oct 1;0(0):1754. doi: 10.20882/adicciones.1754. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Problematic Gambling or Gambling Disorder (GD) can act by initiating and maintaining the problem of substance addiction. Despite this, there are no rapid screening tools validated in Spanish. The Brief Problem Gambling Screen (BPGS) has proven to be one of the most sensitive tools for detecting GD and populations at risk. This study aims to validate the Spanish version of the original five-item BPGS. A sample of 100 Spanish-speaking adults with substance use disorder were recruited from an addiction treatment center. The participants were administered the Spanish version of BPGS. It showed strong item reliability properties (Ω = 0.93). Sensitivity and specificity values were excellent (0.93 each), also positive (0.7) and negative (0.99) predictive values suggest high discriminant power when compared to non-GD subjects. Statistically significant strong correlation with a gold-standard measure (Problem Gambling Severity Index) was found (r = 0.8, p < 0.01). Similar psychometric properties were found in at-risk gambler patients. In conclusion, the BPGS seems to be an adequate screening instrument in Spanish-speaking clinical population, and also identifies at-risk of GD subjects.

PMID:36200231 | DOI:10.20882/adicciones.1754

Adicciones. 2022 Sep 30;0(0):1709. doi: 10.20882/adicciones.1709. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to analyze the rejection towards smokers when considering a stable relationship. The sample included 445 participants who were recruited using the snowball method. A questionnaire created ad hoc was answered online by each participant. The effect of tobacco use was evaluated in choosing a stable partner, a stable partner to live with, and a stable partner to live with and have children. The results showed a significant rejection towards smokers for the different types of relationships. Statistically significant differences were found depending on the participants’ educational background and tobacco use, and their partner’s tobacco use. A higher level of rejection towards smokers was found in participants with university studies, in non-smokers, and those with a non-smoker partner. The main reasons for rejection were related to hygiene, health, and household economy. In conclusion, tobacco use can interfere with the establishment of a stable relationship. This argument could be added to the list of drawbacks associated with tobacco use for prevention and treatment.

PMID:36200226 | DOI:10.20882/adicciones.1709

Adicciones. 2022 Sep 30;0(0):1705. doi: 10.20882/adicciones.1705. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to identify the environmental factors that influence alcohol consumption, according to university students, and assess the relative importance and the frequency attributed to each factor. A study using Concept Mapping methodology was performed with a sample of nursing students, who participated in two face-to-face data collection sessions. In session 1, a consensus about the environmental aspects that influence their alcohol consumption was obtained. In session 2, the statements obtained were rated according to their relative importance and frequency in alcohol use (1 = minimum; 5 = maximum). Subsequently, all data were analyzed with the RCMAP of the statistical package R 3.6.1.Approximately 60 students participated in each session. Most were women aged 20 to 24. In session 1, a total of 55 statements were obtained and classified into 7 different clusters: Advertising (9 statements); Family environment (4 statements); Social pressure (12 statements); Responsibilities/norms (4 statements); Holidays and leisure time (7 statements); Emotional situations (8 statements); Accessibility (11 statements). Factors related to social pressure, holidays and leisure time, and alcohol accessibility were considered the most important and frequent in alcohol consumption. In contrast, alcohol advertising was considered the least important (mean 2.6 out of 5) and frequent (mean 2.1 out 5) factor. In conclusion, the factors considered most relevant among nursing students match those having more resources allocated for prevention and health promotion, except for alcohol advertising, which was perceived as less important and frequent compared with the other factors.

PMID:36200225 | DOI:10.20882/adicciones.1705

J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2022 Oct 5:e13737. doi: 10.1002/acm2.13737. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Cone-beam CT (CBCT)-based synthetic CT (sCT) dose calculation has the potential to make the adaptive radiotherapy (ART) pathway more efficient while removing subjectivity. This study assessed four sCT generation methods using 15 head-and-neck rescanned ART patients. Each patient’s planning CT (pCT), rescan CT (rCT), and CBCT post-rCT was acquired with the CBCT deformably registered to the rCT (dCBCT).

METHODS: The four methods investigated were as follows: method 1-deformably registering the pCT to the dCBCT. Method 2-assigning six mass density values to the dCBCT. Method 3-iteratively removing artifacts and correcting the dCBCT Hounsfield units (HU). Method 4-using a cycle general adversarial network machine learning model (trained with 45 paired pCT and CBCT). Treatment plans were created on the rCT and recalculated on each sCT. Planning target volume (PTV) and organ-at-risk (OAR) structures were contoured by clinicians on the rCT (high-dose PTV, low-dose PTV, spinal canal, larynx, brainstem, and parotids) to allow the assessment of dose-volume histogram statistics at clinically relevant points.

RESULTS: The HU mean absolute error (MAE) and minimum dose gamma index pass rate (2%/2 mm) were calculated, and the generation time was measured for 15 patients using the rCT as the comparator. For methods 1-4 the MAE, gamma index analysis, and generation time were as follows: 59.7 HU, 100.0%, and 143 s; 164.2 HU, 95.2%, and 232 s; 75.7 HU, 99.9%, and 153 s; and 79.4 HU, 99.8%, and 112 s, respectively. Dose differences for PTVs and OARs were all <0.3 Gy except for method 2 (<0.5 Gy).

CONCLUSION: All methods were considered clinically viable. The machine learning method was found to be most suitable for clinical implementation due to its high dosimetric accuracy and short generation time. Further investigation is required for larger anatomical changes between the CBCT and pCT and for other anatomical sites.

PMID:36200179 | DOI:10.1002/acm2.13737

Microrna. 2022 Oct 5. doi: 10.2174/2211536611666221005091351. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Diabetic complications have been studied extensively in recent years. There are very few biomarkers in body fluids that can pinpoint a distinct diabetic complication due to insufficient known specific biomarkers for ischemia.

OBJECTIVE: Identifying Micro RNA in animal models for each complication could enable early diagnosis of a given complication if verified in humans. Micro RNA (miRNA) profiling has been done in rodent models for number of diabetic complications like diabetic glomerular injury, atherosclerosis, cognitive impairment, diabetic wound healing, angiopathy and other complications. Due to multiple differences between rodents and humans, the changes in rabbit skin considered closer to humans than even pigs, may better simulate human diabetic complication of ischemia.

METHODS: To study the miRNA profile of rabbits in which diabetes was induced or ischemia was surgically generated, we studied whether diabetes or ischemia induced specific miRNA could be detected. Micro RNA from blood of diabetic rabbits and rabbits with local ischemia was collected in PAXgene Blood RNA tubes specifically designed for miRNA isolation and extracted using the PAX gene miRNA extraction Kit. The isolated RNA was quality controlled using RNA analyzer and further using RNA seq technology was analyzed for distinct miRNAs that were detected in diabetic and non-diabetic rabbits induced with ischemia.

RESULTS: A miRNA found to be expressed in diabetic rabbits and ischemic rabbits but not expressed in untreated rabbits is miRNA-183. Several miRNAs were differentially expressed across comparison groups, and several upregulated miRNAs were identified that are unique to each comparison. In rabbits with a potential diabetic complication of a long-term ischemic model there was one distinct microRNA which was highly significantly upregulated in ischemia rabbit (miRNA-133-3p). One miRNA that was highly significantly upregulated in diabetic rabbit but not in ischemic rabbits was miRNA-3074-5p. Only statistically significant results are considered and analyzed.

CONCLUSION: These findings could lead to a precise and timely diagnosis of a potential single diabetic complication without invasive tissue biopsies and could be a novel tool in the management of diabetic patients developing complications due to progression of diabetes.

PMID:36200149 | DOI:10.2174/2211536611666221005091351